


Achievement Hunter X: Only Human

by Drakanin



Series: Achievement Hunter X [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Gen, Mutants, No Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 18:57:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 107,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1952427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakanin/pseuds/Drakanin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Actions have consequences. No exceptions. The Achievement Hunters thought they had got off easy, thought that everything was back to normal, more or less. Oh, they were so wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be trying to space the updates out, since I don't necessarily have as clear a plan for this one as I did the first story. I do have a plan, but this will likely be a bit longer. I'll be trying to essentially stay a chapter or two ahead of updating.
> 
> I will also warn you that there will be unfortunately a great less pictures. I will still find opportunities to insert pictures, but I did not have time to draw something for Chapter 1 or the Prologue. That aside, I still hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it.

The short Latina doctor sat in a conference room with four tough-looking men. She still wore her scrubs from her day at work. A computer sat open in front of her, as well as a pile of papers and folders, but she wasn’t looking at them. She and the four men instead stared at a projection on the wall with the computer placed at the end of the table so that its webcam could capture all five of them. On the projection were four people in a split screen video call, two men and two women. Three of these four people were currently in charge of running the American Mutant Organization, as per a cyclical rotation amongst select candidates. As it stood, the two men were a politician and a sheriff, and the woman was a lawyer. The last woman was currently the speaker for the researchers working for AMO. None of them were mutants.

“I trust, Rose, that by now you have identified the people who raided Doctor Lehrer’s headquarters?” said the politician. With a gruff cough he readjusted his already immaculately straightened red tie.

Rose nodded and gestured towards the four men in the room with her. One of them was completely bald, and did not look happy about it. He had been forced to shave his head or else sport ugly patches of scalp. The acid burns had healed, but the hair did not come with the restored skin. “These four were amongst the guards on duty Saturday night last weekend. We suspected that the intruders were from the same company, so I showed them pictures I found on the company’s website. They have correctly identified them and their observed powers. Unfortunately, no one could confirm where the dampening ability came from.”

The research team spokeswoman mulled this over. “It seems to me that it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to suspect that this mutant we’re looking for is also from the company. You said it was called… Roosterteeth?”

Rose nodded again.

“Need I remind you,” said the lawyer, “that this mutant might not exist. It could have been that Lehrer simply performed poorly and failed.”

Rose shrugged. “She seemed very certain that there had been a dampening effect before she was knocked out, when I talked to her before her arrest.”

“It doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for a mutant like that,” said the sheriff. “Or for any of the escaped or delinquent mutants we’ve identified.”

Everyone agreed. The politician said, “We will send out an alert to other AMO members. Those who live in Texas should keep a special eye out for them. And we might also want to mention that one of these mutants or someone close to these mutants might hold the cure we’ve been looking for.” More murmurs of agreement.

“Why don’t we just storm the damn place?” the sheriff asked. The lawyer looked very annoyed.

“Okay, and get arrested for trespassing, assault, et cetera…” she said with a huff. The sheriff had the decency to look cowed.

“Before we end this conference call,” said the researcher, cutting in, “I must thank you, Rose, for seizing Lehrer’s documents before the police did. She might not be of any use to us anymore, and her methods might have been a little… crude, but you can’t argue with her results. We’ll be using this information to try for a new cure, or at least an updated vaccine, in case we can’t find that new mutant.”

The sheriff spoke up again. “Just curious, but is there any new findings that may help with our weapons research?”

The researcher shrugged. “We’re still sifting through a lot of information. We would need blood samples anyway, and none of those were saved.”

The sheriff looked like he wanted to spit, but resisted since he was in an inside location. “Hope you find something soon. Those bastards ought to be good for _something_ in their rotten existence.”

Everyone looked like they agreed with that sentiment. Before signing off, they chorused, “May a cure be found soon for these broken people.”


	2. Raw and Awake

“You mentioned that some of your ancestors projected as well?”

“Oh yes. According to something like my great-times-a-hundred-aunt’s diary, the Astral Plane used to be filled with silver ropes. I’m sure it was an exaggeration, but I’m also sure that there were probably a great deal more projectors than there are today. At least, that I’ve noticed.”

Ray sat in his apartment at his computer, alone save for the Indian face on the monitor. It was Sunday, the weekend after their little rescue mission. Chetan Bhattacharya, after Ray had emailed greetings, had requested a video call so that they may more easily talk face to face. The Indian medical researcher didn’t like communicating only via text, and had never met another projector before. He was eager to chat and share what he knew about the Astral Plane and the act of projecting, having never had the chance before. He was ecstatic to answer any question Ray had.

“Powerful psychics can, of course, access the Astral Plane, too,” he was saying. “But certainly not in the same way you or I could.”

“What happened to all the other projectors?”

“It seems to me that their, ah, _sedentary_ lifestyle eventually caught up to them,” Chetan admitted. “Spend too much time astral projecting, and you end up not moving very much. Any time I’m not working or researching the Astral Plane, I’m basically exercising.”

“Lots of people you know projected were related to you,” Ray said slowly. “So then, why am I one? As far as I know, no one in my family ever did anything like this.”

Chetan shrugged helplessly. “There’s no real way to tell. Either this ‘mutation,’ as you call it, was passed down, and perhaps it just never manifested in your ancestors – making them carriers, I mean – or the cosmos aligned and just happened to grant you your ability.”

Ray leaned back in his chair and wrapped his hands around one knee, pulling his knee up to his chest. “Now, about these ropes…”

Chetan smiled, expecting this question. “As I’ve mentioned at our first meeting, no one has ever examined a cut projection before. Other measurements have been made, though. For one, the spiritual thread can only stretch so far, meaning you can only go up to a certain distance away from your body. This distance is different for everyone, and there is evidence to suggest that this distance can be stretched with what is essentially mental exercise. It’s also been theorized that this distance decreases as you get to be very old, but unfortunately this has never been tested. The Astral Plane, too, can be used to travel farther distances on the Earthly Plane than could originally be achieved, but this is not without risks.”

“Like what?” Not that Ray really wanted to use the Astral Plane for travel. He didn’t really want to access the Astral Plane at all.

“Well, sometimes the person stretches their thread too far. This is probably the least likely cause of severing, but it does unfortunately happen. All the cases I’ve read have only been when the person used the Astral Plane to travel farther in the Earthly Plane, so that extra dimensional travel might prevent the projection from getting safely back to the body when it is pulled too far. Another reason is an outside force. See, since the Astral Plane is made up of memories and emotions, it can sometimes get… dangerous.”

“Dangerous? It seemed fine when I was there.”

“And you were there for a while, yes. You were very lucky, it seems. Of course, these occurrences are rare to encounter to begin with – at least, that I’ve observed.”

Ray heard a soft knock at his front door, and a familiar voice call, “Ray, I’m coming in!”

“My friend’s here,” he said quickly. “I’ve got to go.”

“I’d like to see you in the Astral Plane some time soon!” Chetan insisted. Ray gave a noncommittal answer and closed out of the video call just as his door opened and Tina entered his apartment.

Tina threw her purse on a chair in the kitchen and approached him, choosing eventually to lean against the wall. Tina was completely in the dark about Ray’s new… situation. Almost no one knew about the mutations, except for the mutants themselves of course. How could something like this ever be explained? How could it ever be taken as anything but a joke? Ray studied his friend, and she shifted awkwardly, crossing her arms.

“You almost ready to stream?” she asked, jolting him from his thoughts.

“Y-yeah,” Ray said, standing as Tina walked over to his computer. “Let’s stream.”

* * *

 

Michael woke up in the middle of that Sunday night in a cold sweat. He lay there, breathing heavily, his dream already fading from his memory. But he knew what the dream was. This was the third night in a row that he had it. The finer details were lost pretty much on waking, and it was slightly different each night, but the gist of it remained. He was always full of hatred, full of rage, his hands on someone’s face. He would melt the faceless dream-stranger, melt him down like he was a candle and Michael was the flame. And always, always, Geoff would be there, standing behind him. He wouldn’t speak, but he would judge, arms crossed, gaze steady and cool.

Michael turned onto his side so that he was facing away from Lindsay, who was still sound asleep. He stared at the red light of his alarm clock, not really seeing it. His wife did not know exactly what had happened just outside her door. What she assumed, Michael didn’t quite know, but he wasn’t about to ask. Asking would clue her into the fact that it was likely something different, something worse. Michael couldn’t bring himself to admit it to her what he had done to that guard, what he had tried to do.

Michael stared at his hand resting on the white sheets. White so that his night sweat wouldn’t bleach a perfectly nice colored bed set. Murder had been in his heart. If Geoff hadn’t stopped him, hadn’t pulled him back, how far would he have gone? He didn’t want to know.

And then, of course, there was that time he had hesitated. What had gotten into him? Geoff was in trouble, and he had been standing there like a fool. He knew Geoff didn’t blame him, but he blamed himself. The doctor had been talking crazy. A cure would be changing their fundamental beings. She might have had a tough time in childhood, but lots of people did. If people were more educated on the matter, accidents like that wouldn’t happen.

Right?

He hadn’t thought about this all week. He had been happy that everyone was back safely. Everyone else seemed happy, too. And then work kept him busy, keeping his sleep deep and his dreams forgettable. But obviously the thoughts and feelings from that night had lingered. He shifted onto his back and stared blurrily at the ceiling. This was the third night he had woken up. One dream was bad enough, but three made a pattern. He hoped this wouldn’t continue through the work week.

He hoped no one else was having similar troubles to him.

* * *

 

When Ryan woke up in the wee hours of Monday morning, he wasn’t sure at first what had roused him. He sifted through his dreams of the night, but it was strange. He had never had dreams like this ever before. Not that he remembered, anyway, and definitely not before he discovered his mutation. It had been less like a dream and more like a thrill of sensations and emotions. The excitement of the hunt as he had sulked in underbrush, limbs powerful, ears sharp, twigs brushing against his flank as he sneaked, leaves crunching softly underfoot. A roar, a squeal of a small animal, a rush of euphoria.

Ryan quickly realized that the reason he woke up now was probably the spider sitting on his pillow beside his bed. A small black arachnid faced him as he lay on his side. As it came into focus, Ryan lurched in surprise, shuffling up to prop himself on his arm and lift his head off his pillow.

<The Messiah has indeed come!> cried the spider. <O Messiah of the Large Ones, please let me be your sacrifice!>

Ryan blinked. A couple spiders had talked to him before, enthused that one of the “Large Ones” could understand them. All of them had similarly called him a Messiah. He supposed that, living such a solitary lifestyle, the spiders needed something to believe in, to think about while waiting for prey, to connect with when they met another. It made Ryan uncomfortable, though. He didn’t want to be a Messiah for arachnids. It was just weird.

“No, no. No sacrifices tonight,” Ryan said as softly as possible, though his deep voice made it difficult to be quiet anyway. “Go – go home and catch some flies.”

<Please, Messiah! I had doubted your existence! I must prove my dedication!>

Ryan winced and scooped the spider up on a finger. “No sacrifices. If you want to prove your dedication, live out your life and catch prey. It’s your duty.”

The spider seemed as eager about this as it was about being sacrificed. <Of course, Messiah! I will do as you wish!> Ryan brought his finger to the wall above his bed, and the spider crawled off it and scampered up to the ceiling. Ryan laid his head back down and watched the spider speed out of sight.

He wondered how he would tell his family, _if_ he would tell his family, about mutants. Would he even be taken seriously? Would they feel lied to, even though he himself didn’t know until a short while ago? Would they laugh? Would the world laugh? Ryan knew that Geoff wanted to eventually raise awareness about this all, to help kids and prevent cases like Doctor Lehrer’s. It wasn’t something that was likely to come up soon, but it was something that would almost certainly come eventually. Which meant that Ryan would have to deal with it.

But that was an anxiety that he could push aside, knowing it could be dealt with later, and could even be dealt with as it came. What were harder to ignore were his feelings about his own abilities, and his dreams only agitated them. He wondered what would happen if he went too far, if he took too much from an animal much like what had almost happened that Saturday. His eyesight had changed, and he had forgotten some of what it was like to be human, stumbling and falling to all fours. So, then, what would have happened had he continued taking strength from the tiger? Would the tiger have died? Would he have succumbed to instincts? Would he have lost control? Would he ever get back to normal?

Ryan shivered. No, he definitely did not want to know. He had to be more careful about that. Even now, the tiger’s residual influence was affecting his dreams, affecting his subconscious. He decided that he would never let it get that far again.

Ryan didn’t realize he fell back asleep until his alarm was waking him. He smacked it off and rolled out of bed. He was exhausted, his disrupted sleep pattern affecting his morning. But with a yawn and some coffee, he was out the door and headed to work. A flock of pigeons had once again found a home on top of his car, but this time, before shooing them away, he paused. He was curious, though he was also a little nervous. He figured it wouldn’t work anyway, but he _had_ to know for sure.

“Lend me some of your strength,” he asked the birds, feeling very silly. No one was around, but he still sometimes felt goofy talking to animals.

<Are you kiddin’ us, bruh?> The pigeons ruffled their feathers and did their best to look indignant. <Bruh, if we give you enough strength to make a goddamn difference, we’d be dead, bruh.> The pigeon who was the apparent spokesperson for the flock was echoed by the other pigeons, a chorus of <bruh> and <goddamn> being cooed by a dozen annoying birds. Ryan sighed and waved the birds away.

He supposed that answered _one_ of his questions.


	3. Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might take a couple chapters to get going, but this story is gonna be fun. Just you wait and see.

“You okay, Ray? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Ray looked up, startled, from his phone to look at his fellow carpooler. Kdin spared a quick glance from the road to shoot Ray a worried look. Ray shrugged and stared out the car window, seeing the Roosterteeth property approach in the distance. “I’m fine,” he said, as chill as he could muster. “Just sleepy.”

Kdin flashed him a grin. “Did you stay up late gaming again?”

Ray forced a smile and a short laugh. “Yeah, you got me.”

They pulled into the Roosterteeth parking lot and exited the vehicle. Ray wasn’t actually all that tired; in fact, he had cut the stream early last night. But he had a lot on his mind, and Kdin was probably one of the last people he was going to talk about it to. As they entered the building and headed towards the Achievement Hunter office, they passed by Miles and Kerry. The two were laughing, and Miles looked as happy as ever. Their heads were together as they found something on Miles’s phone particularly humorous.

Ray hesitated, letting Kdin walk ahead of him. Miles _looked_ happy, yes, but Ray wondered how much of it was real, how much of it was just a cover. Lindsay and Kerry had talked briefly about what it was like, being captured. They had been lucky – since rescue had come so quickly, the worst they really had to deal with was fear and constraints. It was still scary, of course, but for them it was just a bad memory. Miles had agreed and said something similar, a tight-lipped smile on his face to mirror Lindsay’s and Kerry’s nonchalant grins.

But Ray knew. Ray knew that Miles had had it different. He had watched it happen.

The other Achievement Hunters had inquired after Ray’s trip into the Astral Plane, but he hadn’t said much about it, and his friends didn’t press. All he’d really said about it was that it was boring, and that Miles’s ability had apparently helped him get out. He didn’t even mention the Indian medical researcher. Part of the reason why he didn’t want to talk about it was because he flat out just didn’t want to. But another part of the reason was because he was afraid that if he started detailing his little adventure, he would admit to spying on Miles. And if Miles didn’t want to talk about his experiences, then Ray didn’t want to be responsible for forcing him to. But still… he worried about the man a little, and he wondered if keeping it bottled up was doing any good. Time healed all wounds, right?

Ray remembered himself when Kdin stopped walking and turned to stare back at him. He shook his head and jogged a little to catch up. As Kdin went into the little side office, Ray sat down and started editing some achievement guides. Michael was already there, having recorded a Rage Quit before others arrived. They nodded at each other in greeting, but the chatter was kept to a minimum. The rest of the Achievement Hunters filed in throughout the next hour in varying stages of cheerfulness. Had Ray not been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, and had Michael not been so ensconced in his, they might have noticed each other’s silence or the office’s strangely muted ambience. But that is not to say that no one noticed.

Michael seemed more or less normal as the AHWU was filmed, and even as a Let’s Play was filmed before lunch. He was not a cause for alarm, and to an outside observer, his silence could have been attributed to his concentration on his editing. But to Ray, every action seemed to require much more energy than usual, and he only spoke when he found it absolutely necessary or found something incredibly funny. He was distracted, and most of the Achievement Hunters didn’t notice, being focused on their own thoughts or work. But one did.

Gavin pulled Ray aside as the rest of the office left for lunch. “What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” Gavin demanded. He fixed Ray with an intense stare, green eyes locked on to brown.

“What do you mean?” Ray dug his hands into his purple hoodie’s pockets, doing his best not to break eye contact with his friend.

“You’ve been almost _silent_ this morning.”

“I’m just…”

“And _don’t_ give me that ‘I’m just tired’ bull crap,” Gavin said brutally. Ray flinched, and Gavin’s gaze and tone of voice softened. “I just… I’m a little worried about you, X-Ray.”

“Yeah?” Ray said. “That’s great, and all, but I don’t fucking want to talk about it.”

He tried to push past Gavin and head for the door, but Gavin grabbed him by the arm. “I know you don’t _want_ to talk about it, but I think you _need_ to talk about it.” Gavin’s eyebrows knitted together, and his expression grew pained. “It’s not just you, it’s almost _everyone._ Michael seems bothered about something or else like he didn’t sleep well, Ryan looks exhausted and jumpy, and even Geoff is more pensive than usual. But then there’s _you_. You won’t talk to _anyone_. Why are you being so shut up?”

Ray suddenly felt drained and weak all over. He had been so selfishly wrapped up in himself that he didn’t notice what Gavin had. He realized, at this moment, how much strain he had put himself under as the result of being “so shut up.” He stepped backwards and sunk into his chair and began to spill. He kept his eyes on the ground and didn’t look at Gavin’s face as his mouth seemed to work on its own accord. Before he could stop himself, he was telling Gavin everything.

He told him about drifting, told him about feeling empty and lost, told him about thinking he would probably die there. He told him about finally trying to go somewhere, told him about trying to explore, told him about trying to find an exit. And most importantly, he told him about the earthly crystal, told him about the beacon, told him about spying on Miles. Gavin was silent the entire time, but Ray could feel his gaze. When he was done, Ray felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He was still startled when Gavin pulled him into a hug, though.

Gavin pulled away and their gazes locked again. “Well, you’ve got to talk to him, don’t you?”

Ray threw up his hands at this comment. “What am I gonna fucking say? ‘Hey, I saw you get tortured, wanna talk about it?’”

“Well, we’ve got to do _something_.”

Ray was about to reply, but paused as Gavin’s words fully registered. He had said “we.” Ray might have been wondering what to do for a while now, but now there were two of them. It was X-Ray and Vav, and he felt emboldened by the extra support. It felt good to have someone else know what’s up, someone to share the burden of knowledge.

“Okay,” he relented finally. “Let’s go chat with Miles.”

* * *

 

It took a little while to find Miles. Since it was lunchtime, most employees were anywhere except their office. As X-Ray and Vav strolled around the Roosterteeth headquarters, a stranger entered their midst. They were near the front door, going to go check if Miles’s car was still in the parking lot when a woman with a blonde ponytail and smart shoes stopped them.

“Excuse me,” she said, placing a manicured hand on Gavin’s arm. “Could you direct me to your CEO’s office? I have business I would like to discuss with him.” She was trailed by two men, one muscled and one svelte. They were dressed down in jeans and T-shirts, but they still put Gavin on edge. It seemed to him that they were flanking the woman. He felt like this was a bad idea, but the woman herself didn’t seem threatening. He gave her directions and warned her that she might not be able to see him immediately, he’s a very busy man, not to mention it’s lunchtime. She gave him a cool smile and thanked him. As the trio of strangers vanished around a corner, Ray turned to Gavin.

“Do you think that was a good idea?”

Gavin shrugged. “What’s the worst that could happen? Hey, look, I see Miles!” Through a window next to the front door, they watched Miles’s car swing into the parking lot, returning from a lunch out with Kerry. The two exited the car smoothly and swiftly, laughing at something Miles had said. Or rather, Miles was laughing, and Kerry was groaning with a smile on his face in mock-displeasure. Ray suddenly shrunk back, forcing Gavin to grab his arm again and pulled him out the front door. Kerry spotted the two first and waved.

“Hey guys, what’s up? Done eating lunch?” Kerry called, prompting Miles to look up. Miles’s smile faltered when he saw the serious look on Ray’s face, but he quickly regained composure.

“Haven’t eaten yet,” Gavin admitted, heading towards them so that the four of them met about halfway between the front door and the car. “We were busy looking for Miles, actually.”

“Well, I was out,” Miles said simply. “What do you need me for?”

Gavin glanced at Ray, who was staring hard at his red shoes and not speaking. Gavin resisted a sigh and spoke for his friend. “We were hoping to talk to you – _alone_ ,” he added, with a glance at Kerry. Kerry raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Miles, who nodded.

“See you in a minute,” Kerry said with a little wave and headed towards the front door. Gavin led Miles and Ray to the shaded side of the building, where it was a little more private.

“Now, Gavin, why did you want to talk to me?”

“Actually,” Gavin said, gently nudging Ray forward with an arm, “it was Ray who wanted to talk to you.”

Miles grew serious as he turned his gaze upon the Puerto Rican who was still avoiding eye contact. It seemed he had figured out pretty quickly that this had something to do with his rescue. He waited, patiently and cautiously, for Ray to speak.

“You know we’re here if you ever want to talk,” Ray mumbled to his shoes.

Miles gave them a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks for the offer, guys, but I’m alright. If that’s all, then, I’ve got to get back to…”

“I saw everything,” Ray blurted, cutting him off. Miles froze mid-sentence as he stared at Ray, his smile staying glued to his face for a few seconds before it tugged its way down to a more neutral position. Ray looked as though he very much wanted to take back what he said, or at least bite off his own tongue. But it was too late now, and if he couldn’t take it back, then he was going to move forward. “You… your _ability_ didn’t just help me get out of the Astral Plane, it allowed me to… well, to spy on you, for a lack of a better term. It… it took me a _long_ time to figure out how to actually get back to you.” He let his sentence hang, let the implications of his words sink in.

Miles looked horrified and, strangely, slightly guilty. Admirably, however, he still tried to force a smile. “I… don’t know what you saw, but really, I’m fine,” he insisted. He put a hand up to shush Gavin when the Brit started to protest. “I’m _fine_. And if that’s everything you wanted me for, then I have work that needs to be done.” Without another word, Miles turned on his heel and marched back inside the building, leaving his two co-workers standing mutely in the shade.

“That went as well as one could hope,” Ray said dryly, looking up at Gavin, who was visibly deflated.

“I suppose…” Gavin said with a sigh. He stared wistfully after Miles and added, “Why is no one bloody talking about it? About Saturday night?” Ray shrugged and scuffed his shoes. When his stomach growled loud enough for Gavin to hear, the Brit let a grin split his face. “Oh man, our _lunch break_ is almost over! Alright, X-Ray, let’s go get something to eat.”

* * *

 

Matt caught Ray and Gavin on their way back from their quick lunch. He was wringing his hands together and looking very anxious and slightly guilty. “I’ve got bad news,” he said, stopping the duo just outside their office. He opened their office door and gestured at them to enter, where their four co-workers were waiting. As Matt entered behind them, Geoff stood from his chair expectantly.

“What’s up, Matt?” he asked, spotting the nervous expression on the CEO’s face.

As the Achievement Hunters stared him down, Matt said, “It seems I’ve made a grave error. I… may have accidentally revealed myself to an AMO member.”


	4. Wait It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might change chapter title later, if I think of a better one.

As it turned out, the female stranger and her two maybe-bodyguards were from the American Mutant Organization. They did manage to catch Matt just as he was about to leave for lunch. He noticed right away that the svelte guy was a mutant, but mostly he just wanted to shoo them away. The woman insisted, blocking his exit with their three bodies. She asked him, rather pleasantly, he added, if he knew that several of his employees were mutants. He of course played dumb.

“I said, ‘As far as I know, there are no mutants here, not in the way you’re describing. And if there were, it’s not my responsibility to know as long as they’re not hurting anyone.’”

The woman went on. She explained to him the dangers of mutants, both to themselves and the people around them. It is an “unfortunate reality” of our world. Matt questioned her validity, asking why he’d never heard of these mutants if they’re so dangerous. She then went off on a tirade that painted mutants to be like a silent, hidden killer, lurking in the shadows under the bed and in your children’s closets. By this point, Matt was getting hungry and real sick of her attitude.

“When I threatened to get security to escort her out, she finally took her cue to leave. But as her two little bodyguards were leaving, I pulled the skinny guy back and asked him a quick question.”

“Matt, that was dumb as dicks.”

“I _know_ , Geoff, but I really wanted to know what he was doing working for someone as terrible as that. So I just asked, ‘Why are you working for such a lady, being what you are?’”

“And?”

“He didn’t really answer me. He mumbled something about wanting a better world and left.”

Jack said, “I think I saw them leave. The skinny guy whispered something in the woman’s ear just before they got into a car, and she got really pissed.”

“What do we do?” asked Ray.

“There’s nothing _to_ do,” Matt admitted. “I made a mistake and there’s no way to fix this one. We’ll just have to be more careful.”

* * *

 

Miles sat at his desk and scratched his short beard thoughtfully. He stared at his computer monitor but wasn’t really looking at what was on the screen. Matt had just told him about the CEO’s recent blunder, but that wasn’t what he was thinking about. No, he was in one of those unfortunate periods where his mind was allowed to drift, and when it drifted, it drifted to one place.

He tried distracting himself from that Saturday. Oftentimes, he was successful, too. Kerry and Arryn often provided much needed distractions, and work sometimes became engrossing enough as well. But this time, and this happened occasionally, the harder he tried to derail his thoughts, the more they stayed on track. He withdrew into himself, lost in the memories and sensations of that Saturday.

Barbara peeked around the corner to observe Miles, noticing his withdrawal. Or rather, Arryn had noticed, and now that Barbara was alerted, she saw it as well. Arryn was worried about Miles. Ever since last weekend, Miles had been acting strange. He got home early Sunday after spending a weekend out with some of the boys. After a rest, he seemed back to normal, but over the week his façade had begun to crumble. Arryn brought this up with Barbara, not sure of what she should do. But now Barbara, too, was not sure.

Barbara chewed her lip and walked slowly back to her office. Arryn had been so worried that Saturday when Miles hadn’t picked up his phone. Kerry hadn’t either, and after calling a couple other coworkers, Burnie finally told her he was fine. Barbara wasn’t sure what had happened that Saturday. Unfortunately, the only advice she had for Arryn was to bring it up with Miles himself.

Hopefully Arryn could find the right time to bring it up soon. Barbara was worried for the both of them.

* * *

 

The next night, Matt drove himself home from work, tired and ready to relax. He had to help plan a little for next Saturday morning when the mutants would all meet again. He barely remembered the ride home, having taken it so often. It didn’t help that his mind was elsewhere. He almost wished he wasn’t so busy running the company so that he could check up on the rescued mutants. He barely saw any of them on a normal day. The previous work week had progressed as normal, and no one was clearly breaking down, but still he worried.

He didn’t notice the car parked in front of his house until he got out of his car. He locked it, jammed his keys back into his pocket, and looked up to meet the eyes of the svelte guy from yesterday. His vision filled with gray stars, blotting everything out, and he started to feel unbalanced. He shook his head clear and rubbed his eyes. The three people were gone, and the sun had dipped slightly closer to the horizon.

Paper crinkled on the inside of his left elbow. Matt picked a sticky note off of his skin that was stuck just above a Band-Aid. It read simply:

__

_Thanks for the DNA!_

_xo_

_AMO_

Something clicked in his brain, a small epiphany that resulted from a mutant’s ability being used in front of him – or, in this case, _on_ him. The svelte guy had the ability to put people into a trance. Matt glanced wearily at the setting sun, feeling a little woozy from blood loss. Of course, the AMO wouldn’t let his mistake slip. He mentally called himself every dumb name he could think of as he entered his house. It was _just yesterday_ that he himself had said to be more careful, and here he was, careless and with less blood in his body than normal.

Matt had made two major mistakes in two days, and he only had himself to blame.

* * *

 

Before work the next day, Geoff waited for Matt, Burnie, and Joel just outside the front entrance of the Roosterteeth building. Burnie is the last of the three to arrive, and when he spotted Geoff standing with his arms crossed, he paused. He cautiously approached Geoff, who nodded in greeting.

“What’s with the little powwow?” Burnie asked.

Geoff jerked his head towards the door. “Let’s talk somewhere more private. Matt has agreed to let us use his office.” Burnie raised an eyebrow and agreed. When the four of them entered Matt’s office, Geoff closed the door with a snap and turned to face his three co-workers.

“Why did you want to talk, Geoff?” Matt asked. “Is this about… ah, yesterday?”

“Partially.” Geoff crossed his arms again and made his moustache twitch with a frown. “I’m a little worried about our ‘secret’. Worried as dicks, actually.”

“What do you mean?” Burnie asked, already guessing at the answer.

Geoff sighed. “I think that we should let our secret out.”

Burnie’s jaw dropped, and Matt nearly shouted “Absolutely not!” Matt shook his head, counted to ten in his head, then asked, “ _Why_?”

“Think about it, dude,” Geoff said, uncrossing his arms and holding his hands out to the side, palm up. “If we wait too long, we might be forced out into the open. So then, why don’t we do it on our terms?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Joel said, nodding and squinting his eyes a little. “Because if we’re forced out, it might leave a bad first impression, right?”

“Right,” Geoff agreed. “But if _we_ do it, then _we_ can control how the information is given out.” At Burnie’s look, Geoff quickly added, “ _You’d_ still be hidden, of course, Burnie. Can’t fucking let AMO know about your ability.”

“I dunno…” Burnie said slowly. “Do you really think that being revealed is such an imminent possibility that we need to start thinking about this?”

Geoff sighed again, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows at Burnie in a slightly exasperated expression. “AMO has Matt’s blood. There’s a _very_ fucking good chance that they’ll try to make something out of it, be it another attempt at a cure, or some sort of identification device.”

When Matt still looked unconvinced, Joel butted in again with a possible compromise. “Well, what if we started small? Told the rest of the Roosterteeth employees? If anyone would support us, it would be them, and then if we revealed to a larger audience, we’d have their support from the get-go.”

Matt ran a hand through his hair and blew air through pursed lips. He opened his mouth, decided against whatever he was going to say, then thought about it some more. “Can we sleep on this? I need some time to think about it.”

“Of course,” Geoff said, reaching forward and clapping his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I’d like to know sooner rather than later, but take as much time as you need.”

* * *

 

“Ray, why have you been ignoring my video calls?”

It was Thursday night, and Ray definitely wasn’t feeling it. He had gotten home from work all ready to relax and perhaps play some Mario Kart only to be deterred by a cross email from Chetan Bhattacharya. It had been a couple days since Matt’s DNA had been taken by AMO, and knowing that there was no real way to get it back put him in no mood to deal with the Indian researcher. Yet, if he ignored him another night, he was going to have a very angry man on his hands. Ray did _not_ need an angry man to deal with on top of all this.

Chetan sighed when Ray merely shrugged in answer to his question. “Alright, it doesn’t matter, but I’d _really_ like to meet with you in the Astral Plane. I could really use your help. I understand that you are a little nervous about going back, but you _must_ understand that your experience is a unique one. That is not how the Astral Plane is like, usually. Your fears are irrational at best.”

“I don’t even know how to fucking _get_ to the Astral Plane on purpose,” Ray said a little brisker than he meant. Chetan appeared a little confused, one black eyebrow rising quizzically.

“All the projections I know first projected into the Astral Plane.”

“Not me. I’ve been projecting solely into the physical world.”

Chetan hummed. “A little unusual, but not too strange, I suppose. I’ve always found it harder to manifest my projection in the Earthly Plane, where it’s not a natural being.”

“Sucks.”

“Anyway,” Chetan continued, ignoring Ray’s interjection, “I suppose projecting into the Astral Plane would not be all that different from projecting into the Earthly Plane. Though… hmm… I am finding it hard to describe it. I’ve never really thought about the process.”

“Well, you can get back to me on that, then.”

“Ray, wait, don’t you…”

Ray hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little choppy, with a lot of small scenes, but necessary.


	5. Brave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I was gonna have a regularish update schedule but apparently fuck that. Enjoy.

It was Saturday morning before anyone was ready for it. Gavin caught a ride with Geoff bright and early, but the man appeared to be in no mood to talk. As such, Gavin spent the morning drive staring at his iPhone. He wished Geoff would _talk_ to him, instead of basically only to Matt, Burnie, and Joel. Sure, Geoff talked to him and the other Achievement Hunters during Let’s Plays and at work, but he was very conspicuously dodging the topic of the rescue mission and of mutants entirely. Everyone was. He hoped being all together again this morning would break some people out of their shells.

Geoff wheeled into the parking lot just as Ray, Michael, and Lindsay exited a parked car. Gavin waved at them from his window and jumped out as soon as Geoff’s car stopped moving. Gavin jogged over to his lads in time for Michael to sniff.

“You look bloody horrible,” he told Michael. And Michael _did_ look horrible. He was paler than usual, with dark circles under his eyes and his nose rubbed red. Ray didn’t look much better, though, but mainly like he just didn’t get enough sleep.

“I _feel_ fucking horrible,” Michael replied with another sniff. He rubbed his nose on the sleeve of his hoodie. “I almost didn’t want to come.”

“But I made him come,” Lindsay said with a slight smile.

“Yeah, fuck you,” Michael grumbled, jamming his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

Geoff came up behind Gavin and threw an arm around the Brit’s shoulders. “What are you assholes loitering around for? Let’s go inside. Everyone else is already here.”

And everyone _was_ here already. There wasn’t really a defined plan for the group this morning. Everyone was free to pair off and work together. Gavin worked with Lindsay and Kerry for a while, allowing Lindsay and Kerry to work on their teamwork. Kerry made a cloak of shadows for Lindsay, and Gavin was the perfect opponent with his echolocation. Mostly they wanted to see if she could get around someone who could see with more than just photons. They were at it for probably twenty minutes, but no breakthroughs were made. Lindsay’s ability only made her invisible, not intangible. Sound waves could still bounce off of her.

Gavin called it quits when he noticed Ray sitting off to the side. He sat on the edge of the Patch stage, which was right next to the Podcast set, and was leaning against the wall passively. Gavin sat down next to him and waited. When it was clear that Ray was not going to start the conversation, Gavin said, “What are you doing? You’re not gonna astral project?”

Ray glanced at Gavin without turning his head. “Nah,” he said simply, returning his gaze to what he was looking at before. Gavin followed his line of sight to see Miles with Michael and Caleb. For some reason, Miles appeared to be having trouble producing light. His eyes were shut tight, sweat beading on his forehead as his companions offered encouragement. His skin flickered feebly before dulling completely. He opened his eyes and relaxed his tense stance in defeat, looking apologetic. He laughed weakly and waved his hands dismissively, but Michael and Caleb started to look suspicious.

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why aren’t you gonna project?”

Ray sighed and closed his eyes. “I haven’t projected on purpose in fucking two weeks.”

“Two _weeks?_ Wait, on _purpose_?”

Ray turned to look at Gavin and shrugged, his eyebrows going up and the corner of his mouth twitching. “I mean, I’ve accidentally projected into, like, my kitchen a couple times while I was asleep.”

“But I thought you really enjoyed projecting?”

Ray puffed out his cheeks and drew his knees into his chest, resting his chin on his knees. “Yeah, I don’t fucking know.”

Gavin was silent for a moment. Then his face lit up in realization. “Ray, are you _scared?_ ”

Ray’s head jerked up and he stared at Gavin. “What! No! Not – not at all!”

Gavin grinned and prodded Ray in the side, making him jump and extend his legs to keep his balance. “You are! You are scared! You’re such a bad liar!” His smile slipped and he grew serious again. “Ray, you don’t need to be scared!”

“Easy for you to say,” Ray said, resuming his observation of Miles. “I think about projecting, and I guess… I guess I’m fucking worried that I’ll accidentally project into the Astral Plane. I’m worried that – that I’ll fucking do something wrong and lose connection to my body again. Or maybe I didn’t heal right, and… and…” He cast his gaze around as if the words he was looking for would be written on the ceiling.

Gavin reached out and clasped Ray’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Well, you’ve done it on accident, and you got back fine.”

Ray sighed again. “Yeah. I did.”

Gavin wished he had more to say. It killed him to see his friends, not just Ray, in so much distress. Out of everyone, he was probably the least affected by the whole capture-and-rescue missions. Him and Jack, who had been unconscious for a fair bit of it. But Gavin had had _fun_ , and it pained him to admit that to himself amongst the others.  He felt in control of his power for the most part – let’s not talk about those times when he accidentally upset the balance of his friends’ inner ears when they surprised him – and he had felt sort of like a superhero. And now he felt guilty for deriving _any_ pleasure from that Saturday.

Gavin was pulled from his thoughts when a sudden bright light burned his retinas. He blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, clearing the hole in his vision just enough to see the glow fade from Miles’s hands. He had just shot a concentrated beam of light across the room, something that he had never done before. The rest of the mutants started clapping and cheering, and Miles grinned in relief. Gavin clapped a few times even though no one was paying him any attention.

“You should try it,” he said suddenly, making Ray jump a little.

“What?”

“Astral project.” Gavin grinned confidently. “I think you just need to prove to yourself that everything’s fine. Face your fears! Be brave!”

Ray didn’t reply at first, opting instead to study his hand. Then he inhaled loudly, straightened his back, and nodded. “Right,” he said, more to himself than to Gavin. He scooted back so that he could sit cross-legged on the Patch stage. Gavin fell respectively silent and watched as Ray settled into his position, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing. After a moment, Ray wiped his palms on his jeans then rested his hands on his thighs. Whatever Ray was doing, it seemed to take a while. Gavin was conspicuously aware of the other mutants’ movements. As quietly as he could, he shifted farther back into the stage so that the others wouldn’t immediately notice the two of them. His gut was telling him to stick with Ray, and if someone spotted him loitering, he would surely be pulled into more practice.

Ray, meanwhile, made the decision to try and access the Astral Plane on purpose. His nervousness stemmed from that place and he knew it. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a feeling Chetan had been right – his fears were irrational. He just… He just had to prove it to himself.

That being said, he still wasn’t sure how to access the Astral Plane. Chetan had said it was easy, but the only way he knew how to access it was a telekinetic ripping open a hole. _Some_ how, he didn’t think his method needed to be so crude. His best guess was that it was like how he projected to a distance room. He just had to “dream” himself there. With reluctance, he formed a clear mental picture of the shimmering plane he did not really want to go back to. He felt the gentle tug in his gut and relaxed into it. His head drooped down as his mind started disconnecting itself from his body. With a final jerk, he slumped forward. Unbeknownst to him, Gavin steadied him and propped him upright.

Ray knew immediately that he was successful. There was no sound at first. For a moment, he thought he had gone deaf, and it felt as though pillows were pressed against his ears. He slid through cool darkness like he was floating through a calm pond. He broke through the metaphorical pond surface and he opened his eyes. Soft light flooded his vision, the shimmering purples and pinks of the background catching his attention. The shining crystal was at his back, and he stared up at the orbiting crystal spheres far, far in the distance for several moments. He felt… at peace, strangely enough.

That was until he heard a rumbling sound. Rather, it didn’t technically make noise, but the air began to vibrate like bass cranked to maximum. He turned slowly, so that the crystal was to his right. He stared in horror as a section of the crystal pulsated and shivered, the light pushing outwards irregularly like paint on top of active speakers. He flinched and floated backwards a couple feet as a thick, golden pillar shot out of the crystal.

It was unlike Miles’s beacon in almost every way. In fact, Ray quickly realized that it wasn’t really a pillar at all, but what looked like a thick snake-like body. It was solid, so very solid, and as wide as a redwood tree. It curled around as it exited the crystal, the glow on its body fading to black as dark as obsidian, revealing scales that glinted in the light of the Astral Plane. It curled around and around itself, and brought its head down in front of Ray. Its head resembled that of a fearsome dragon, an appearance that normally wouldn’t scare Ray, but when it opened its mouth and screeched, he was ready to piss his pants. It lunged forward and Ray cringed in reflex, closing his eyes and yelled to himself, “ _Wake up, wake the fuck up!_ ”

With a hard lurch to his gut that felt like someone had punched him, he zipped back to his body. His eyes snapped opened and he was already screaming. He felt hands on his body as he flailed, trying to push himself backwards as fast as possible.

“Ray! _Ray!_ Calm down, you mingey prick!” Gavin shouted, struggling to steady his friend. Ray finally realized that he was out of the Astral Plane and stopped flailing about. His heart was racing and his breathing was haggard. He still shook with fear.

“What the fuck is happening over here?” Geoff asked angrily, marching over with clenched fists and fire in his eyes. “Why the fuck are you screaming?” Over his shoulder, the rest of the mutants were silent, watching curiously.

“I dunno!” Gavin said, hunkering down and making himself look small as Geoff hopped onto the Patch stage and towered over the two of them. “Ray was just projecting, and – and then he started screaming!”

Geoff switched his glare to Ray, who shrunk as well. Geoff didn’t even need to ask. “I – I don’t fucking know! I was – I was just trying to access the Astral Plane again to – to see if I could do it on purpose! And then this fucking _thing_ – this fucking _dragon_ just appeared out of nowhere and attacked me!”

Burnie came up behind Geoff and put a hand on the gent’s shoulder. “You… went back to the Astral Plane?” Burnie asked him. At Ray’s nod, he asked, “What brought this on? I mean, I kind of assumed you’d be nervous to go back after, you know…”

Ray glanced away, wiped his forehead with a trembling hand, and stood up. Gavin stood with him, a hand still on his friend’s back. “I… I thought… I wanted…”

Gavin rubbed his back and interrupted him. “I convinced Ray to try it,” he said, only half-lying. Yeah, he had encouraged Ray to project again, but it had been all Ray’s decision to try for the Astral Plane. Gavin figured he knew the reason, and also figured that Ray probably didn’t want to share his fears and reasoning with everyone. He knew he was doing the right thing, though, when Ray shot him a thankful look, smiling a little. “He was nervous about projecting there, and I wanted him to face his fears, essentially.”

Geoff sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Don’t scare me like that again,” he muttered, turning away. Without another word, he hopped down off the Patch stage and left the room entirely. Burnie watched him go, then turned towards Ray and Gavin with an apologetic smile.

“He’s just really worried about you guys – about everyone, really,” he said. “He’s put himself under a lot of stress.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Gavin said, returning the smile. “But I think we’ll sit the rest of practice out.”

Burnie nodded in understanding and re-joined the rest of the mutants. Gavin let out a long breath and glanced at the door Geoff had gone through. Ray sunk back to the floor and hunched forward so that he could prop his chin on his hand and his elbow on his thigh.

“That didn’t quite exactly go as planned, huh?” Gavin said half-jokingly, trying to make light of the situation as best he could.

“You could fucking say that again.”

* * *

 

Arryn watched Miles from the doorway for several minutes silently that Saturday night. He had not noticed her yet, being engrossed in a new Lego building project that appeared to be based off of the movie. He worked methodically yet eagerly, glancing quickly between the instructions and the pieces laid out evenly in front of him. He had seemed much happier today to Arryn after this morning, making her wonder if the time had passed to worry about him. She wondered if she should even bring up her observations with him now.

He must have noticed her out of the corner of his eye when he looked at the instruction booklet, because he jumped a little and turned to look at her. A smile broke across his face. “Hey, what’s up?” Then he frowned. “You look worried.”

Arryn sighed. She wasn’t prepared for this conversation yet. But would she ever be? She had to try _something_. Now was as good a time as any to at least try. “Are… Are you feeling alright?”

Miles looked confused. He stood up and approached her, placing his hands on her arms lightly. “I’m fine. Did I worry you somehow?”

She glanced down. “It’s just… You seemed a little… down this week. So yeah, I guess I was a little worried.”

Miles appeared thoughtful for a few moments, maybe even downright indecisive. To Arryn, it looked like he was debating whether or not to say something. He squeezed her arms gently and dropped his hands to his sides. He opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed. “Really, I’m fine. I’m sorry I worried you.”

Arryn remained unconvinced, but smiled reassuringly. If he had something to tell her, he would do it when he was ready. She took his hand in both of hers. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said. Miles smiled warmly and pulled her into a hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered to the top of her head. “I’m so lucky to have you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS. I like my chapter titles to have a pattern/trend. Did you notice this one yet? (Hint: It's not adjectives)


	6. Run Boy Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer than the others. Enjoy.

Ray paced back and forth in front of his computer, alone in his apartment. He kept his eyes trained for the most part on Chetan’s face on the screen. “You tell me what the fuck that was,” he demanded, jabbing a finger at the screen. Chetan didn’t even recoil, keeping remarkably calm.

“You encountered a Nightmare, and a big one by the sounds of it.”

“A _Nightmare_. I was attacked by some fucking kid’s bad dream?!”

Chetan sighed deeply. Sometimes he disliked dealing with someone so… ignorant, for lack of a better term. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. Everyone on Earth dreams every night, and many of them have nightmares. Not all of these nightmares manifest in the Astral Plane, but if the person has a high proclivity for psychic energies, or has a particularly bad one in which emotions run high, then it might manifest in some form.”

“You’ve got some pretty fucking big words there.”

Chetan ignored him. “The Astral Plane is, as I’ve mentioned before, made up of thoughts and emotions. It has no real measureable space, but you could still consider it vast, and so sometimes even if it manifests, you’ll never see it. I suppose they have been known to seek out people who are projecting… but it was bad luck you encountered one. Good you got away, thought, or you might have been lost.” Ray’s heart dropped to somewhere in his stomach, and he stopped pacing. Chetan seemed oblivious to his reaction. “Still, I’m glad you finally agreed to meet me. I hope the Nightmare didn’t scare you too much?”

“No,” Ray lied. He was fucking nervous as dicks, but Chetan said it was unlikely to meet Nightmares… Besides, he wouldn’t be alone this time, right? “How are we gonna meet if there’s no fucking measureable space?”

Chetan grinned proudly and puffed out his chest a little, his teeth startlingly white against his skin. “Don’t you worry about that. You get to the astral plane first, then I’ll project to you.”

“What? How?”

“I remember your… let’s call it your energy signature on the Plane. I can project nearby. It’s a bit tricky, so leave it to me for now. Though I might want to teach you later…”

Ray took a deep breath and sat down in the chair in front of his computer. He shifted around and settled into it, trying to relax. He left the video chat on so that Chetan could tell when he was ready. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and slid through thick, cool darkness. He still wasn’t used to projecting into the Astral Plane; it was very different from projecting normally. It was like comparing running freely to walking through knee-deep sludge.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the crystal spheres orbiting far above him. He floated patiently. When he wasn’t severed and despondent or being attacked by a Nightmare, the Astral Plane really was rather nice.

He sensed a presence appear besides him, like a ripple of thick air brushing over his skin. Without looking at who it was, he pointed up at the orbiting spheres with their trapped stars. “The fuck are those?”

Chetan was floating perpendicular to Ray. He crained his neck to follow Ray’s finger. “Oh, those orbiting crystals? They’re celestial spheres. Pay no attention to them; they’re not important. Now if we could…”

“What are they doing?”

Chetan grew exasperated and crossed his arms. There seemed to be two things that easily ticked him off: being ignored and being interrupted. “I don’t know, orbiting? Ray, let’s get…”

“Has anyone ever studied them?”

Chetan suddenly grew quiet. Ray turned to find the researcher studying him intently. “No,” he said finally.

Ray oriented himself so that his feet were at the shining crystal ocean and he was facing Chetan. “Well, someone should, right?” Without waiting for an answer, Ray started flying upwards quickly.

“No!” Chetan shouted, lurching forward and grasping something, yanking his hands down. Ray felt his guts clench horribly, like a giant hand was grabbing them. He was pulled down, and before he realized what was happening, he was awake in his apartment with his stomach trying to claw its way out of his throat. He dashed to the bathroom, vomit burning his throat already. He dropped to his knees and heaved over the porcelain lip of his toilet. He emptied the contents of his stomach, the vile stench of puke washing over his face as it splattered against the water and the bowl. He coughed and spit the remaining bile in his mouth into the toilet. He groaned and slipped down besides it, pressing his cheek against the cool material. Miraculously, the vomit had not escaped the confines of the bowl. When his stomach stopped churning, he realized that Chetan was calling for him over the video chat.

“Ray? Ray! Are you okay? I’m so sorry! Ray?”

He stood shakily and ran the faucet to splash cool water on his face. He bent over to sip some water and sloshed it around his mouth before spitting. He wiped his mouth on a hand towel and returned to his computer, sinking gratefully into the chair.

“I’m so, so sorry!” Chetan said again, but the Indian man looked relieved to see Ray. “I saw you go up and just reacted without thinking!”

Ray closed his eyes and massaged his temple. “What the fuck, man?”

Chetan sat back in his seat and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I’m sorry, it’s just… The oldest documents I have on astral projection and the Astral Plane all mention this obsession with the celestial spheres. Occasionally, it seems, one will have this obsession, this incredible urge to go up to them. But the thing is, those who do… they all die. No one really knows what happens. They leave to go, and… they just… cease to live. I was worried that your interest in them was a sign of this obsession.”

Ray suddenly felt very cold. He drew his knees up into his chest and hugged them close. Had he been obsessed? He didn’t feel like it. He had thought they were pretty, yes, visually appealing. He did kind of want to touch them, examine them closely, but would that count as an obsession? Or just an idle, curious interest? Then again, he had only been to the Astral Plane three times now. Still, Chetan’s story chilled him.

Chetan sighed again. “I had wanted to examine your spiritual thread, but I guess we should save that for another time. I really am sorry for making you sick…”

Ray shook his head. “Don’t fucking beat yourself up over it. But I think that’s enough Astral Plane for tonight…”

* * *

 

Monday came and Michael was absent. According to Lindsay, after the session on Saturday, he got really sick. Like, vomiting sick. Snotty and coughing and unable to hold any food down. He seemed to be getting somewhat better today, but he was still ill enough to miss work.

“It was hard to stay in the same room as him,” she was saying. “He’d cough, and this nasty burning fog would come out with the phlegm. We opened the window in the bedroom, but if I wanted to be in the same room, I had to wear a fucking mask.” She rubbed her nose with the memory of the strange sick fog.

Gavin mulled this over anxiously. He had been focused on Ray these past few days, but he had been ignoring his boi! Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, he realized Michael had probably needed his support as much as Ray. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he knew that all the fretting Michael had been doing had likely weakened his immune system. Michael had literally worried himself sick. Gavin glanced at Geoff, who looked thoughtful. Did the gent know or suspect something that the others didn’t know? Did Gavin miss something from that Saturday’s heist? But he had been with them almost the whole time… Gavin was dying to see his boi.

The opportunity arose around lunchtime. Lindsay entered the Achievement Hunter office and addressed the group. “Michael texted me asking for cough drops and cold medicine. Unfortunately I have too much editing to do. Could one of you go to CVS and bring some meds to Michael?”

“I’ll go!” Gavin said immediately.

“Gavin, you can’t _drive,_ ” Ryan pointed out almost as quickly.

“Then _you_ take me,” Gavin said, crossing his arms. He was adamant; he wanted to see Michael.

Geoff sighed and raised his hands. “ _Both_ of you fuckers go, then,” he said, rolling his eyes. Gavin grinned broadly, and Ryan shrugged complacently. “I’d feel better if there were two of you going together, anyway,” he admitted.

“Guess you don’t need me, then,” Ray said with a shrug and a half-smile.

Geoff pursed his lips and stroked his moustache thoughtfully. “If you wanted to check up on Michael, you could always project over. I can’t have _three_ employees out for that long, but you could let him know Ryan and Gavin are coming, unlock the door, whatever.”

Ray looked surprised, like this hadn’t occurred to him. He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, I suppose I could do that.” As Ryan and Gavin left the room with a jingle of car keys, Ray lay down on the white couch and promptly fell asleep.

Ray projected his consciousness to just outside Michael’s apartment door. With a glance down the hallway, he stepped through it. Once through, he knocked on it lightly and called softly, “Michael?” The only thing that answered him was the sound of retching. Ray silently followed the sound to the bathroom in the apartment to see Michael bent over the toilet. He was making horrible gagging noises as he vomited little more than bile. He was wearing an old T-shirt and pajama pants. Michael glanced up and jumped.

“Jesus fuck!” he exclaimed, but the effort made him start coughing. When he could breathe again, he said, “You scared the fuck outta me, Ray!” Then he wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, sorry about the smell…”

“Nah, I can’t fucking smell anything as a projection. I don’t even technically breathe,” Ray pointed out as Michael succumbed to another short coughing fit. He could see what Lindsay had meant by a burning fog. Greenish smoke came out of Michael’s mouth in puffs around his fist. Ray, feeling useless, grabbed a box of tissues from the top of the toilet and handed a tissue to Michael, who took it thankfully and blew his nose. “You gonna puke again?”

Michael shook his head, looking pale. “I think I’m good. I don’t suppose you have any cough drops?”

Ray shook his head as he helped Michael up and assisted him to his bed. “I’m just the messenger. Here to check up on you and tell you that Gavin and Ryan are going to CVS now.” Michael climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to cover himself with trembling hands. He didn’t look tired, just miserable. Ray lingered awkwardly, not sure of what to do or where to be. He figured it was just about time to zip back to his body when Michael started talking.

“I’ve been a fucking fool, Ray.” Ray stared at him, but Michael wasn’t looking back. His hand was covering his eyes as he pressed his head back into his pillow. “A guilty, fucking fool.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I tried to kill a man.”

Michael still had his eyes covered, still wasn’t looking at Ray. Was this some kind of joke? What was Michael going on about? Ray sat down on the edge of the bed and frowned at his friend. He didn’t know what to say, what to do. If Michael was joking, then he didn’t want to play serious. But if Michael was serious, he definitely didn’t want to try and laugh it off. Ray was silent long enough for Michael to spread his fingers and peer through them to make sure he was still there. Ray just stared back, waiting.

“The rescue mission,” Michael continued after a brief cough. Then he sighed like he couldn’t believe himself and looked up at the ceiling. “We were just outside of the room Lindsay was being kept in, and I attacked the guard harder than I should have. I… if Geoff hadn’t fucking stopped me, I’m sure I would have actually murdered him.”

“You were angry, I’m sure no one blames you, even if…”

“No!” Michael interrupted loudly. The shouting forced him into another coughing fit. “Ray, only Geoff and I know exactly what happened. I know he judges me for it, I fucking know.”

“Michael, I…”

“I never thought that… that was something I would be capable of. I was just so fucking _angry_.” He sighed again. “If Geoff hadn’t been there…”

Ray reached over and grabbed Michael’s hand, startling him. “You fucking stop this,” he demanded. He didn’t know quite what to say, but he hated seeing his friend beat himself up for something. He loathed it. And now he was currently the only one who would be able to at least try and help. “Just fucking stop. That’s in the past, and no one was fucking murdered. And if Geoff had anything to do with it, I’m pretty fucking sure no one was even hurt. I don’t know what Geoff thinks, and you don’t fucking know what Geoff thinks, but I doubt he’s judging you _half_ as fucking much as you are judging yourself right fucking _now_. Obviously he doesn’t fucking _hate_ you, so stop beating yourself up!”

Michael only stared at him, lost for words. Ray bounced back up, easily sliding off the bed to stand again. He turned away from Michael and said, “I have to get back to work. Gavin and Ryan should be here soon with meds.” And without waiting for a reply, he woke up.

* * *

 

Ryan and Gavin, in the meantime, discovered that the nearest CVS was only about two blocks away from Michael’s apartment. They found a parking spot somewhere between the two and decided to walk, as opposed to driving two blocks and having to park twice. The streets were relatively busy with lunchtime traffic, though since it was a more residential area it still wasn’t packed. The two of them strolled leisurely, enjoying the warmth of the sun after being in the cold office all morning.

“I’m just a little worried about everyone,” Gavin was saying.

“Gavin, we’re all adults. If someone needs help, they’ll ask for it,” Ryan insisted, having reiterated this sentiment a few times now. He failed to catch his own personal hypocrisy in his statement.

“Just ‘cause we’re adults doesn’t mean we know what’s best,” Gavin muttered indignantly.

The pair passed by two men in suits, who did a double take. The two strangers stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and watched Ryan and Gavin recede. One of them murmured to the other, who nodded. The one who had nodded pulled up a phone, and they resumed walking, trailing a good several paces behind their targets.

<Ey, bruh!> Ryan jumped and looked up, searching the skies. Gavin grabbed his arm and forced him to slow when he nearly collided with another pedestrian. A pigeon fluttered overhead, landing on a nearby overhang. <Two fellers jus’ started followin’ ya! Do you know ‘em, bruh?>

Ryan stopped walking and turned. Gavin halted a couple feet in front of him, reacting slowly, and they both looked back into the stream of people. His eyes landed easily on the two men in suits, one of them still on his phone. The air seemed to chill, and Ryan grasped for Gavin’s arm. The men in suits realized they had been spotted and upped their speed.

“Run,” he said quietly to Gavin.

“What?”

“Run!” Grabbing Gavin’s arm probably tighter than was necessary, making the lad squeal, Ryan turned and sprinted. Gavin stumbled behind him before catching himself. Ryan held on to Gavin’s arm, not wanting to be separated, and threaded their way through the crowd as best as possible. Several people were quite rudely shoved to the side by both pairs as the strangers also began running.

“Ryan, let me knock them down!” Gavin said around gasps.

“No! You’ll hit _everyone_.” There were more reasons why Gavin shouldn’t use his ability, but Ryan didn’t have time to iterate them. Up ahead, a police officer standing at the corner turned to face them. Whether or not he was a normal officer or an enemy, Ryan didn’t know and didn’t want to chance. He glanced towards the street and, seeing an opening, pulled Gavin into traffic. They ran to a chorus of car horns. The two sped to the end of the block and turned down the smaller road. As they rounded the corner, Ryan spared a glance behind him, searching for the men in suits. He couldn’t locate them before he turned the corner.

They heard a police siren start up nearby. Both of them were gasping for breath, Ryan more so. They barely slowed. They were not safe yet. Gavin pointed to an alleyway between a tall building and a short one.

“There! Maybe we can climb up the fire escape?”

“And do what, be trapped?”

Gavin shrugged, but they ducked down the alley anyway, hoping that if they took enough turns, they could be lost. “Do you have a better plan? Why aren’t you trying to Hulk up?!” Red and blue lights blinked behind them. The alley turned to thread behind the short building and then hooked again to empty out into the parallel street. They slowed at the first turn, unsure if they had been seen or not.

“‘Hulk up?’ It’s not…”

“ _Just try something!_ ”

Ryan threw up his hands and desperately scanned for a suitable animal, adrenaline and fear making his heart beat fast and his palms sweat. Thankfully, he connected with a rhino at the zoo.

<Help! I’m being chased!> he cried mentally.

<Fuck off.> Ryan stopped moving out of pure shock. Gavin grew frustrated and tried to pull him, but he was lost in thought.

< _What_. >

<I said fuck off. It’s not my problem.>

The connection closed. Ryan was still stunned, but Gavin hit him on the arm.

“We have to _move!_ ” Gavin hissed. Ryan shook his head as if to clear it and resumed a faster pace.

“Yeah, it’s not happening,” Ryan admitted. Gavin groaned in frustration but didn’t have time to reply. They reached the end of the alleyway, but just as they approached the exit, two strangers stepped out from either side to block it. Ryan and Gavin skidded and changed directions as fast as they could. Something flew over Ryan’s shoulder and pinged into the wall in front of them as they turned. “ _They’re shooting at us!_ ”

They turned down the stretch of alleyway that was completely behind buildings to face two police officers. As Ryan slowed, Gavin stepped just in front him, preparing to shout them down. The female officer raised a gun that was rather enormous compared to what officers were supposed to carry and pulled the trigger. A weighted net burst out of the end and wrapped itself around Ryan and Gavin. Gavin stumbled back, pushing his weight into Ryan and forcing the both of them to fall.

“Stop struggling!” Ryan hissed. Gavin’s elbow was jabbing into his back rather painfully as the lad wriggled around. “You’re making it worse!”

The four foes gathered around the pile but kept a sizeable distance, like they were dealing with a feral animal rather than two humans. The stranger who had shot at them before raised his gun, aimed, and fired twice. Ryan felt a pinch in his shoulder as a dart lodged itself into his flesh. He cried out and struggled even more, but already felt himself and Gavin failing. The tranquilizer travelled through his bloodstream, and Ryan’s world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pigeons are fun to write. I need to write more pigeons.


	7. Prison Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to dedicate the next three chapters to my phone, on which 90% of them were written.

Lindsay wouldn’t have noticed her phone ringing if Caleb hadn’t nudged her. She shot him a grateful smile and quickly picked it up, noticing Michael’s number. She had barely muttered a greeting when Michael demanded, “Where the fuck are my cough drops?”

Lindsay checked the time on her computer screen and frowned. “It’s been over half an hour. Ryan and Gavin should have definitely been there by now.”

“Well they’re _not_.”

“Have you tried calling them?”

“Fucking duh. Neither of them are picking up.”

Lindsay glanced at Caleb, her expression growing worried. Caleb caught her look and imitated it with a mixture of confusion. “This is troublesome,” she said. “Uh, keep calling them. I’ll – I’ll pass on the message.” When Michael grumpily agreed, Lindsay hung up and pushed away from her desk. “Gavin and Ryan are missing,” she told Caleb simply. At this, he practically leaped out of his chair and joined her as she headed for the door. Kdin pulled off his headphones, having not heard the two talk but noticing them moving.

“What’s up?”

Lindsay hesitated. “Nothing,” she said as casually as she could. “Get back to work, loser.” Kdin furrowed his brow and studied her for a moment before shrugging and putting his headphones back on. Lindsay opened the door in their office to greet the three remaining Achievement Hunters.

“Lindsay? What’s up?” Geoff asked, removing his headphones. Ray and Jack did the same, both of them picking up on the ambience. Caleb shut the door carefully behind them and stood next to Lindsay. She still had her phone in her hand; she didn’t even notice it.

“Michael just called. It’s been over half an hour, but Ryan and Gavin haven’t arrived yet. Even in bad traffic they should have been there by now, but in any case they’re not picking up their phones.”

Geoff cursed under his breath. Jack ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the other gent; Ray just stared at his hands. Geoff looked at Caleb. “Could you find them?”

Caleb frowned and held out his hands helplessly. “They could be anywhere. I could go from surface to surface, but I might never find them. Besides that it would take hours, maybe days, and would be exhausting.”

“Short answer: No,” Geoff summarized. Caleb nodded grimly. It was clear by his expression that he desperately wished he was more useful right now. Geoff cursed again and glanced at Ray. “I don’t suppose you…”

“No,” said Ray immediately, but he looked thoughtful. Geoff raised an eyebrow at him, expecting a longer answer. Ray squirmed under the gent’s gaze. “I… I’ve heard of a way to project nearby someone, but I have no fucking clue how to do it,” he admitted.

“Wait,” Jack said quickly, drawing his eyebrows together pensively. “How’d you hear of this?”

Ray looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He sputtered useless phonemes, struggling to decide what to say. It was pitiful enough that Geoff cut in. “It doesn’t matter right now. Right now, I’m worried about Gavin and Ryan.” He sighed and rubbed his temple.

“They might not necessarily be in any danger,” Jack pointed out, but he was clearly worried, too. “It hasn’t been _that_ long. They might have just gotten into a small accident, or got stopped in traffic, or…” He trailed off. No one was mentioning it, but they were all thinking about it. AMO. That mysterious organization hell-bent on finding a “cure” for mutants. It had been a looming threat that the Achievement Hunters had happily ignored. But now that two of their members were MIA, could the American Mutant Organization be to blame? No one wanted to believe it, but they _did_ recently get a sample of Matt’s blood.

“We give them one hour,” Geoff said finally and with authority. “If there is no sign of them, we start looking.”

* * *

 

Ryan drifted in and out of consciousness. Most of the time, he was out cold, but a few times he obtained a sort of half-consciousness. His limbs felt heavy and he couldn’t move them easily, not even his neck. His shoulder where the dart had pierced him ached dully. He felt he was starting to wake when he was being carried between two people.

“You got _Haywood_!?” a woman screeched. “We can’t handle super strength!”

“He got caught up; we can’t let him go now.”

A sigh. “Well, I hope you figured out how to restrain him on the way here. He can’t be sedated when we administer… Hey, he moved! Sedate him! Now!” Panicked.

He felt a pinch in his arm and he slid back into darkness. There he wallowed warmly for who knows how long. An image of a tiger’s head formed in his mental eye, facing him. It opened its mouth and growled, a sound that rapidly crescendoed into a guttural roar. Ryan’s eyes snapped open.

His eyelids felt like they were filled with sand. His limbs still felt heavy, and there was a weighty warmth across his abdomen. He tried to move his arm and realized that both arms were twisted behind his back and secured at the wrist. He rolled his neck, still recovering from being drugged, and looked down at his stomach. Gavin was sprawled on top of him, still passed out. He, too, had his hands tied behind his back, and Ryan could see now that they were secured with duct tape. In addition to this, what looked like a gag was tied behind his head. It seemed that he and Ryan had been unceremoniously dumped into this room.

The room itself was not much to behold. Someone had converted half of the room into a sort of jail cell, though Ryan could tell he wasn’t actually in a jail. The floor was wood and the wall was brick. His side of the room did not have much – a small toilet, one feeble mattress on the floor against the inside wall, and no windows. The other side of the room had two folding chairs and a small table opposite the iron bars underneath a window covered with curtains. A second window was in the wall to Ryan’s left, just on the other side of the bars. Orange light was beginning to stream through it, suggesting that it was nearing sunset – an assumption supported by the growl of his stomach. The door was set in the wall to his right.

Ryan wriggled around carefully, trying to shove Gavin off of him, but the lad was solidly in place. “Gavin,” he hissed, keeping one eye on the door. “Wake up.” He tried moving his arms as well, attempting to somehow wrestle his way out of the duct tape, but his efforts were fruitless.

Ryan reached out with his mind, but being in the city there were few animals that could help. He considered trying to send a pigeon to the Achievement Hunters, but he realized that such a plan was useless if not impossible. No one would be able to understand his message, maybe not even the bird. Instead he tried something new. He pulled with his mind, trying to summon as many birds as he could. Maybe if enough birds perched just outside the building he was trapped in, it would look _just_ unusual enough to an observer. The flapping of numerous wings told him he was at least somewhat successful.

After watching the sunlight travel a short distance across the floor, Gavin started to stir. His groan was muffled around his gag. His head jerked up, and he looked around quickly, taking in his surroundings. When he gazed at Ryan, he mumbled something that sounded vaguely like Ryan’s name and shuffled off of the gent. Ryan sat up with a relieved sigh.

There might have been a video camera set up, or it might have just been excellent timing, but as soon as Gavin and Ryan were moving visibly and obviously fully awake, three people entered the room. Gavin recognized two of them, the man and one of the women. The man was small and skinny, and looked nervous and almost afraid of his companions. The woman he recognized was the blonde woman from before, her hair in a ponytail. She was dressed smartly in slacks and a short-sleeved sweater and held a small plastic briefcase. The second woman wore a pencil skirt and had long brown hair loose around her shoulders. This woman clutched a clipboard and peered around her thick-rimmed glasses. Gavin nudged Ryan and nodded at the svelte man, clueing him into the fact that he was the mutant from last week.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the blonde woman said simply. Her nails clicked rhythmically on her briefcase as she drummed her fingers on it. “We have here an updated vaccine. We’ve tested it on rats, but need humans to test its full potential.”

“Why don’t you use it on your buddy there, then?” Ryan spat angrily.

The man went wide-eyed and glanced at the blonde woman, who didn’t look away from Ryan. She smiled coldly. “We prefer not to risk our new drugs on our… more precious members.”

Gavin mumbled something as loud as he could, but no one could make out what he was saying. The blonde woman rolled her eyes. “Listen, either you get the shot voluntarily, or you fight us and get a needle lodged in your arm. Wayne here _could_ put you in a trance, but that affects the bloodstream and, well, to put it simply, we want the most honest results possible.”

Did they have a choice? Gavin looked at Ryan, who shared an obstinate look with him. The blonde woman waited, but Ryan said nothing, and both of them silently refused to answer with their body language, staying far back in their cell and not moving. The woman looked at her watch, sighed resignedly, and went to the door. A few muffled words later, and three burly-looking men entered.

Gavin struggled a little, but one man held him down easily. Eventually he was forced to stop struggling or else break the needle. He had the feeling that if the needle broke, they wouldn’t bother taking it out again. He squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation and felt the pinch of the needle in his arm.

Ryan, in the meantime, refused to fight or be helpful in any way. Still, they treated him roughly, shoving him into the floor and pressing his cheek against the wood. Two men held him down, practically sitting on top of him, and he glared ferociously at the blonde as she injecting him with the clear fluid. He never flinched, never broke his gaze away. They seemed far more scared of him than they were of Gavin. All the while, the brunette scribbled notes down on her clipboard from the other side of the jail cell.

The blonde left the cell first, and the svelte man prepared to shut the door. At the last minute, the three burly men quickly slid out of the cell, and the door was shut and locked behind them. They left the room immediately, but the blonde woman lingered.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” she said coolly with another smile. She pointed to a previously unnoticed camera set up near the ceiling that was aimed at the jail cell. “We’ll be in and out of the room itself, but always watching.” With a little sarcastic salute, she and her companions left. They heard the click of a lock after the door closed.

* * *

 

Geoff, Jack, and Ray were standing in the shaded area of an alleyway about two or three blocks away from Michael’s apartment. The setting sun made the shadows darker, and with two of them in hoodies, the three of them probably looked pretty suspicious. Earlier, they had found Ryan’s car, one of the two’s cell phones forgotten in the cup holder. So, they knew that they had at least gotten near their destination, and had started searching from there.

 Ray leaned against the stone wall of one of the buildings that made the alleyway, his head drooping as he stared at the ground. Geoff and Jack stood a pace away. Stress and worry made Geoff’s eyes itch with weariness. One hand was jammed into his sweatshirt’s pocket; the other was outstretched in front of him holding an unusual needle. To a passerby, it would have looked like some random discarded needle, but the red fluff on one end caught Geoff’s eye.

Jack put a hand on Geoff’s shoulder. “It’s getting late,” he said, his voice thick with restrained emotion. “Soon it will be too dark to do anything. Let’s look again tomorrow.”

Geoff didn’t reply at first. The unusual needle, the dart, didn’t actually prove anything. He couldn’t feasibly link it to Ryan’s and Gavin’s disappearances. He let his hand fall, let the dart roll off of his palm and clatter to the ground. He lifted up his foot and crushed the dart underneath his heel, making the glass satisfyingly crunch. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in several directions, and sighed.

“Fine. Let’s go,” he said finally. “We’ll take tomorrow off.”

He didn’t move immediately, however. Jack dropped his hand off of Geoff’s shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and then pulled the other gent into a hug. Geoff didn’t raise his arms, but he allowed himself to be engulfed, burying his face in Jack’s shoulder. After a minute, he pulled away, rubbed his eyes with one hand, and left the alleyway without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like it? Let me know. I love hearing your responses.


	8. The Experiment

Monday night. Miles stared at the Legos in front of him, but he wasn’t really looking. He was deep in thought, deep in worry. Not many people had noticed Ryan’s and Gavin’s absence yet, but a couple people were starting to get suspicious. These people wrote it off as bad timing, though, thinking they were _just_ missing the two. But how long would that last? Miles couldn’t understand what Matt and Burnie were thinking. Both of them wanted to keep it quiet for now. He just didn’t understand. All he knew was that he wanted to help search tomorrow with Geoff. They’ll split into two teams. He, Caleb, Lindsay, and Kerry in one car, the Achievement Hunters in another. Michael was recovering quickly now, and felt up for it.

A soft knock on the wall jerked him rudely from his reverie. He glanced up to see Arryn at the doorway. When she got his attention, she walked over and sunk down into the couch next to him. “You alright? You seem worried,” she asked.

“Do I?” Miles asked lightly, at first trying to play it off. But then he sighed and shook his head. He was tired of this deception. Sick of it. He was sick of lying and sick of hiding. He turned towards Arryn. “No, I’m… not alright. Arryn, listen to me.” He reached forward and grasped one of her hands in his. She studied him, waiting. “What I’m about to tell you may seem unbelievable, but I can prove it to you. I just want to apologize in advance for lying to you.”

“Lying?” Arryn frowned. “Miles, what…” She couldn’t complete her question. She didn’t even know what to ask.

Miles took a deep breath and held her gaze, never breaking eye contact. “Arryn, I am a mutant. There’s something different about my DNA that gives me… an extra ability.”

Arryn shot up off the couch, tearing her hand away from Miles. “Is this why you’re all serious? A _joke_? Don’t think I can’t recognize the plot of X-Men. This isn’t very funny! You had me worried!” She started to storm off.

“Arryn, wait! Let me prove it,” Miles insisted, standing. Something in his voice made her turn just before she left the room and cross her arms, waiting. Miles held out his arms slightly, palms up, and closed his eyes. Unnoticeable at first, his skin began to produce light. He kept the light low, so that he was glowing visibly, glowing like the moon at night. When he heard an audible gasp from Arryn, he opened his eyes again and let the glow recede.

“You can’t tell anyone,” he said immediately.

“Miles, I…”

“Promise me, please,” he said, his voice straining. “I’m not even supposed to reveal this to you. You have to keep it a secret. I just… couldn’t keep it from you any longer.”

Arryn pursed her lips. She approached Miles slowly and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her body against his. She breathed in his scent for a few seconds. This was bizarre – definitely something she was going to have to get used to – but he was still the same man. And if he needed her to keep a secret, she would.

“I promise.”

* * *

 

Gavin dozed off at some point while the sunlight was still visible. When he opened his eyes again, sunlight was no longer streaming through the window, though the last vestiges of dusk could be seen. Ryan was sitting up against the wall next to the mattress where Gavin had crawled.

“Gavin,” Ryan said in a low voice, his eyes never leaving the video camera pointed at their cell. His voice cracked as he spoke. “I can’t sense anything. They’re gone. They’re all gone.” Gavin was honestly a little surprised at how sad Ryan sounded. It seemed the gent had already gotten used to his ability, maybe even relishing in some aspects of it. Or maybe without it, he felt sort of empty. Normal. Too normal. Normal like a gray pebble in a stream. Normal like an empty parking lot. Normal like a highway street lamp. At least, that’s how Gavin felt. He wasn’t psychic like Ryan, but he still felt like something was missing.

“Come here,” Ryan said suddenly, scooting away from the wall. “If you get behind me, I bet I could untie your gag.”

Gavin carefully maneuvered himself so that his back was to Ryan and leaned backwards, touching his head to Ryan’s hands. The gent’s fingers fumbled a little, but found the knot and tugged at it. It took a few minutes, and Gavin’s abs were aching more than a little by the time the knot came loose. But he quickly spat the gag out and sat back up.

“Ahh, much better,” he said, relieved. “Have they been back yet?”

“Once, while you were napping,” Ryan said with a frown. “The brunette came back and asked a few questions. I refused to answer anything, but she wrote stuff down anyway and left. I… I don’t think they quite realize what I do. I think… Will you stop that!”

Gavin had been making quiet cooing noises while Ryan was talking. He had been trying to use his echolocation, but like when they were just discovering his abilities, he only succeeded in making dove noises. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I can’t seem to do a bloody thing either. So this is it, huh? AMO has gotten their cure. We’re all bloody well done for, aren’t we?” Gavin crooned mournfully at the floor.

Ryan sighed heavily. “It would seem that way, yes.” Then he grimaced. “Ahh, I wish I had my hands. I just got a bit of a headache.”

“You alright?”

Ryan shook his head and shrugged. “It’s not bad. Yet. I’ll be fine.”

The window turned almost pitch black with the progression of night. Eventually, two of the burly guys from before came in with the svelte guy and cut the duct tape off their hands with sharp switchblades. Apparently AMO thought they were no longer of any danger, and therefore deserved use of their hands. As soon as his hands were free, Ryan jumped to his feet. This was construed as threatening, and the guard who had cut his binds drew his hand back and backslapped Ryan across the jaw, sending the gent sprawling to the floor. The two burly guys roared in laughter. “Not so tough now without your abilities, eh, mutant scum?”

As they left, Gavin noticed that they gave the smaller man – Wayne? – as wide a berth as possible when they walked around him. Gavin approached the iron bars when Wayne locked them in again.

“Why are you with them, Wayne?” he asked sadly.

“I’m not supposed to talk to you,” Wayne said simply and left without another word. Gavin turned back towards Ryan, who was massaging his jaw, and shrugged helplessly.

The night progressed steadily. Gavin at some point realized that his cell phone was still in his pocket, but it had died and no longer turned on. Ryan admitted with a groan that he must have accidentally left his phone in his car. Eventually, despite having been out for most of the afternoon, they grew tired. The two tried to share the small mattress. They lay on it width-wise, their legs sticking out onto the wooden floor. They both slept fitfully, Ryan’s headache coming and going and preventing deep sleep, and Gavin waking up occasionally to cough slightly.

In the morning, the brunette came in with a paper plate of three slices of bread and one plastic cup of water. She asked them questions about their state of being, all of which they refused to answer. This frustrated the woman, but she tried not to show it. Her knuckles grew white on her clipboard.

“We’re trying to help you, and if you don’t communicate, then we can’t!”

“If you want to help us, let us go,” Ryan said, doing his best not to shout.

When the woman left, Gavin asked, “Do you reckon the food’s safe to eat?”

“Probably. If they didn’t want to use their own mutant on us, they probably wouldn’t want to drug us further,” Ryan reasoned. They split the third slice of bread in half and shared the glass of water. Gavin tried to give Ryan the whole extra slice, but Ryan insisted on sharing. Gavin also considered going on a hunger strike, but his stomach ached so much that he almost immediately caved. He had to resist downing more of the water than he deserved, however. His throat had begun to itch some time during the night.

After an hour or so, Gavin started pacing as Ryan lay on the mattress with his hand over his eyes, a fresh headache threatening to turn into a migraine. “What do they bloody expect from us?” Gavin ranted. He curled his hands into fists to resist rattling the iron bars for Ryan’s benefit. “We’re cured now, aren’t we? _Aren’t we?_ ” Christ, he didn’t want to be. His throat’s itch began to turn into a burning sensation.

“Stop.”

“Why, Ryan? I can’t stand this, I can’t bloody –”

“Gavin!” Ryan said sharply with a wince. “Shut up! You’re making my ears ring!”

Gavin clapped a hand over his mouth. “What…”

“I said stop!” Ryan nearly shouted. He took a deep breath and counted to ten in his head. “There’s… a problem,” he said softly. “I’m starting to sense creatures again. The distance of my ability right now is limited, but it’s expanding. Gavin, I…” He paused, lifting his hand from his face to peer up at Gavin. “I’m a little scared.”

The brunette came back a little while later to take the plate and cup. Judging by the sunlight in the window, it was probably close to midday. Before she did that, however, she once again asked after their state of being. The two once again refused to answer. Gavin was quietly thankful that they had kept this silence up, as his lack of speaking now might be unusual. The brunette was not fooled, however. She pointed at the video camera angrily.

“We can see you, you know! We know your head has been bothering you and that _you_ haven’t been talking!” she said around a tight jaw, jabbing her finger at Ryan and Gavin in turn. The two of them just stared. She jerked her arm as though she was about to throw her clipboard, resisted, then took the plate and cup and stormed out.

The afternoon progressed boringly. Gavin occasionally forgot himself to say something, making Ryan wince and lie down if he hadn’t been before. In the meantime, Ryan’s headache just got worse and worse, easily reaching migraine status. He reported sensing birds across such an enormous area that he could barely take any meaning from it.

The sunlight angled into the room sharply. It was nearing dusk. It _had_ to be past the end of the work day by now. Gavin was beginning to despair. Ryan was almost completely incapacitated, curled up on the mattress and facing the wall. Gavin pressed his face against the iron bars, trying to see outside the window, but all he saw were the edges of nondescript buildings.

Ryan mumbled something that sounded like Gavin’s name. The lad turned and saw Ryan now lying on his other side, his arm flopped out to the side to rest on the wood. His eyes were squinted in pain, but they were gazing steadily up at Gavin. Gavin hurried over to him, dropping to his knees.

“Gavin…” Ryan said weakly, grasping for Gavin’s hand. “Whatever happens next… I’m so, so sorry…”

Gavin didn’t even know how to reply, though he greatly wanted to. His throat burned and he worried to speak. He wasn’t sure what brought this statement on. Ryan was in pain, his head killing him, but he seemed to be on the brink of something. Gavin didn’t know what right then, but given Ryan’s state, he knew that in a couple seconds, it would be revealed. Ryan shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut momentarily. He forced his eyes open, forced himself to meet Gavin’s gaze. As their eyes met, Gavin watched in horror as Ryan’s pale eyes changed. With a soft exhale, Ryan’s pupils trembled then dilated, and did his irises turn kind of yellow? A rumbled sounded from his throat that sounded eerily close to a growl. Gavin realized almost too late what had happened.

He yanked his hand away as Ryan lurched forward. Gavin pressed himself to the floor as Ryan rolled over him. Gavin quickly pushed himself and scooted backwards, but Ryan had already recovered from his miss. He was hunched forward, his back to the wall with the sunny window, the outside wall. He growled a guttural growl and lunged strongly forward.

“No, _Ryan_!” Gavin cried out of instinct, forgetting his burning throat. Sound waves burst from Gavin’s mouth, his screech propelling the gent across the room and hurtling hard enough against the wall that he fell through, tumbling to the world outside. Gavin lay there, stunned, as the dust settled before remembering that they were likely above ground level, and that he could have seriously hurt Ryan. He scrambled forward on his hands and knees and peered out of the new window he had created with his friend’s body. It turned out that they were on the second floor of this brick building. A car alarm wailed underneath Gavin, and he watched Ryan jump down off a hood of the car he had landed on. Ryan had somehow flipped in midair and landed squarely on his feet, crushing the hood beneath him and shattering the glass as he apparently landed without any problem.

“ _Ryaaan!_ ” Gavin shouted again. His voice reverberated around the buildings, making windowpanes rattle and causing some of the ones closer to him crack. The rest of the parked cars in the street had their alarms set off. Ryan clutched his ears and writhed a bit before picking up the crushed car and heaving it towards the nearest other one like it weighed as much as a carry-on suitcase. The car soared through the air and landed on top of the other, crumpling the frame. People started screaming, if they weren’t already, and ran for the ends of the street. Already, police sirens ripped through the air.

Gavin heard muffled shouting behind him and a jangle of keys. The AMO members were back! The door creaked open and Gavin glanced back towards it. The brunette woman at the door hesitated briefly, drinking in the situation. Then she rushed towards the cell’s door, fumbling with her keys. It was now or never. Gavin had to go. Without another thought, Gavin crouched and pushed himself out of the hole in the wall. The brunette screamed behind him, telling him to stop.

Gavin landed with his knees bent and rolled forward onto his shoulder as soon as he hit the ground. The concrete sidewalk hurt, and it didn’t help that he rolled over some of the broken safety glass from the car’s shattered windows. He knew he would probably sport some nasty bruises and a couple scrapes later, but he landed successfully without grave injury. He stood, rubbing his shoulder, and tried to see where Ryan had gone. The gent was nowhere to be seen, but Gavin didn’t want to call out again. Yet he couldn’t stay here; the AMO members would be out to retrieve him any second.

He heard a crash around one of the corners and took of sprinting. That had to be where Ryan was. The damn man had gone officially mad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I want to point at something I write and just go:
> 
> That's it  
> That's the joke


	9. Off His Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I do not disappoint anyone here! Please, enjoy!

The police were on the scene almost as fast as the Achievement Hunters. Out looking for their two co-workers, the four Achievement Hunters in Geoff's car heard Gavin’s shout and a whole block of car alarms go off. They thanked base god that it didn’t seem too far away, and Geoff immediately drove aggressively towards the noise. He swerved crookedly into the first parking spot he saw and jumped out, the other Achievement Hunters not far behind. And not a moment too soon, as Ryan bounded around the corner as police sirens drew closer.

“There he is!” Geoff cried, stepping forward only to be yanked back by his collar by Jack.

“Wait, something’s not right,” said Jack.

And he was, of course, correct. Ryan was hunched over, his teeth bared like an animal’s and his brow furrowed deeply in fury. His eyes showed no recognition, showed no humanity. Perhaps this was why the street had been so clear of pedestrians.

Police cars wheeled up to the scene, and officers piled out behind their cars, guns out and pointed at Ryan. The sirens obviously agitated the gent. He clutched at his eyes and flinched before reaching over and pulling on a nearby streetlight. As Jack frantically ordered the officers to “ **freeze!** ” and “ **don’t shoot!** ”, Ryan bent the streetlamp, snapped it, and swung it as hard as he could onto the roof of a cop car.

“ _Jesus fuck!_ ” Michael cried, ducking instinctively. “He’s gone fucking insane!”

Everyone else seemed stunned into silence. Michael’s shout had attracted Ryan, who started running towards them. Jack took the initiative and spoke, “ **Ryan, calm down! Stop!** ” Ryan hesitated and looked for a moment as though he was trying to walk underwater. But with a great roar, he shook off Jack’s persuasion and started charging straight for him.

The two lads scattered, but Jack was still valiantly ordering Ryan to **stop**. “Jack, _move!_ ” Geoff yelled, and with a massive running heave, he shoved Jack out of the way just in time. Ryan collided with Geoff shoulder first, hitting him straight in the ribcage. Geoff was hurtled down the sidewalk and smashed a skid and crater into the concrete. With a groan to rival that of a dying whale, Geoff pushed himself up. He had activated his indestructibility almost too late. He suffered no real injury but still had the wind knocked out of him. He looked up to see Ryan charging at him.

“Jack, knock him out!”

“I’ll knock out the whole street, though!”

Geoff tried to jump and roll out of the way but couldn’t get the leverage needed on the ground. Ryan grabbed Geoff’s legs, swung him around, and flung him straight into the brick wall of a building. Geoff disappeared underneath a pile of bricks.

A lanky man stumbled around the corner where Ryan had originated. He was heaving, having sprinted almost the entire time to somewhat keep up with Ryan, and looked ready to puke from running too much on an empty stomach. His dirty blonde hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. Michael was near that corner and saw him. “Gavin!” he shouted, dashing over to the missing lad. Gavin nearly shouted back, but caught himself just in time.

Ray, meanwhile, had dashed across the street. He saw Jack hesitating, not willing to knock out probably the whole street. He saw Michael approach Gavin, and saw Ryan throw Geoff into the side of a building. Ryan clutched his head for a few seconds as if in pain and then turned back to Jack, who retreated a step. Geoff hadn’t gotten up yet, trapped awkwardly beneath heavy bricks. Ray clenched his fists stubbornly, reached down, and picked up a sizeable stone. With a muttered apology, he chucked it as hard as he could at Ryan. It whizzed past Ryan’s head and clipped him on the back of his skull. With a snarl, Ryan turned towards Ray.

“Hey, asshole!” Ray called, picking up a second rock. He threw it, and it clocked Ryan in the shoulder. Okay, _now_ the gent was mad. Ray realized just how ill-prepared he was for this confrontation as Ryan began to approach him.

Ray backed against the wall of a stone building as Ryan paused, apparently preparing to charge again. “Jack…!” he called nervously. “Now would be a _great_ time to knock him out!”

“But…!”

“Aw fuck,” Ray muttered as Ryan started sprinting. “ _Jack!_ ” he hollered as he dove to the side. Ryan’s fists crashed into the wall where he had just been standing, his hands denting the stone pretty fucking bad. Ray hit the ground awkwardly, skinning his palms and elbows as Ryan ripped his fists out of the wall and shook the dust and debris off. Small stones clattered to the ground. The gent’s knuckles were bleeding, but he didn’t seem to care.

Michael started to run towards them, but Gavin threw out his arm to stop him in his tracks. Michael shot a glare at Gavin, who silently nodded his head towards Jack. When Michael saw Jack with his hands clenched tight and his eyes starting to glow white, he reluctantly stopped and waited.

Ray tried to get off of the ground running, getting one foot under him and beginning to push off. He was too slow. Ryan grabbed his still-extended ankle, and Ray was not pleased to admit that he let out a rather pitiful scream as he lost his balance and slammed back into the ground, his lower jaw meeting his upper with force. He felt the bones in his ankle crack and the shards grate together like sandpaper. He howled in pain. His ankle felt like it was on fire. He was dragged backwards, the skin on his hands and arms scratching and peeling, the ground blurring beneath him. The edges of his vision began to turn gray.

“ _Do it now, Jack!_ ” Ray screamed as the ground suddenly fell away. His ankle lit up in pain as all of his weight was being held by it for a few brief seconds. Ryan whipped him around and swung him down on the sidewalk. Ray’s shoulder blade met the concrete hard. He skidded and rolled, hands over his head as he tried desperately to protect his skull and neck. Every collision with the sidewalk was a nightmare. He had been thrown hard enough that he only stopped rolling when his back slammed into the base of a streetlamp. He gasped with the impact. With a mighty jump, Ryan landed next to Ray, his feet making the concrete crack around them. Ray could only groan and hang limply as Ryan lifted him up above his head.

Ryan shuddered underneath him, and Ray was conscious just long enough to feel himself fall on top of the gent.

On the other side of the street, the glow faded from Jack’s eyes, and he suddenly swayed before catching himself and rubbing his head. He observed the scene carefully, if not a little proudly. He had managed to focus his psychic blast so as to only affect those in front of him and not the other people on the street. It had taken a lot of energy though, and if it wasn’t for the adrenaline, he was certain he wouldn’t have been able to do it at all. It was unfortunate that Ray had been caught in the blast, but it was better than the alternative… Jack shivered, thinking about that.

Geoff finally managed to struggle out of his pile of bricks and stood next to Jack. Michael and Gavin approached cautiously as well. Michael had a guilty look on his face. With a pat on Jack’s shoulder, Geoff said to the other gent, “Not a moment too soon. Now go tell the policemen to back off while I go see Ryan and Ray. If that lad’s girly scream was any indicator, I’d say he probably has some broken bones that need attending to. And you,” he added, pointing to Michael, “call Burnie and _make sure_ he’s at Roosterteeth when we get there. We need him now more than we ever needed him before.”

Michael nodded and took out his phone. Jack was already over by the cop cars, calling out to the policemen and instructing them to gather around him. Geoff jogged lightly across the street, already tired from being knocked around. He crouched down and gently tugged Ray’s unconscious body off of Ryan’s. He was aware of Gavin’s nervous presence as he wiggled Ray’s now-bloodstained shoe off. Even unconscious, the lad flinched in pain as his broken and bleeding ankle was jostled. Geoff winced in empathy and whispered an unheard apology.

He placed a hand on Ray’s shin and _holy shit_ this ankle was in bad shape. He sensed the other bruises and scrapes on the lad, but none of it was nearly this bad. His hand started to buzz warmly, and Geoff could _feel_ his energy being drained. Bones shifted back into place with sickening crunching noises and threaded themselves back together. The bones moved visibly underneath the flesh as it stitched back into smooth unbroken skin. When bits stopped moving, it took almost a full minute for the swelling to go down and for the ankle to heal completely. Geoff removed his hand before he could even attempt to start healing the more minor injuries and sat back on the sidewalk. He rubbed his eyes, fatigue weighing his lids down.

When Gavin squatted next to him, he said, “Put Ray’s shoe back on and help me get these two to the car. If Michael’s done, wave him down.” Geoff didn’t know why exactly Gavin wasn’t talking, but he didn’t feel like asking at the moment. With a weary groan and assistance from a mute Gavin, Geoff stood back up and glanced over at Jack. Jack was telling the policemen to forget their faces, feeding them false information. Geoff hoped that would work. Michael jogged over as he put his phone back into his pocket.

“Can you drive back, Michael?” Geoff asked.

“Sure, why?”

“Healing Ray’s ankle took a lot out of me. I feel like I’m about to fucking pass out.” He hoisted Ray off the ground and glanced warily at Michael and Gavin as they lifted Ryan between them. He hoped Ryan didn’t wake up until they got back to Roosterteeth. The last thing they needed was a super strong madman in the back seat.


	10. We Are Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings glorious readers. Next week I will be back at college, and as it stands right now, my schedule may prove to be very busy. I will do my best to keep updating this story more or less once a week, but I will not guarantee anything.
> 
> Well, if it gets too slow, I do have another story that's already got a couple chapters written out... ☆～（ゝ。∂）I don't PLAN on starting another story before this one is completed, so if you see a new one it's likely because I haven't had time to write.
> 
> Sorry for rambling a little. Enjoy!

Ray’s eyes snapped open. He stared up at the blurred ceiling above him for a few moments before trying to sit up. He hissed as every bruise on his torso seemed to groan in resistance, but at least the pain was bearable. His shoulder ached like a motherfucker, and his elbows and palms still stung, though he had a feeling that it was disinfectant that was responsible for that now. He examined his ankle, wiggling it around experimentally. It seemed completely healed, like it was never broken in the first place. He thanked Geoff in his head and idly wondered why the rest of him wasn’t healed.

He looked around and realized he was in the Achievement Hunter office, apparently alone. He glanced around for his glasses and spotted them carefully placed on the back of the couch. They were covered in a fine, pale layer of dust, and the outer edges of the frame were a bit scratched, but they were thankfully otherwise unharmed. He cleaned them off with his shirt and put them on. With a moan, he pushed himself up off the couch.

Just outside the office, Joel rounded the corner and spotted Ray. “Oh, good, you’re up!” he said. “I was just coming to check up on you.” He waved at Ray to join him, and the two of them started walking down the empty halls together. “How are you feeling?”

“Fucking awful,” Ray said. “But at least my ankle is fine.” He grimaced in memory of the pain. “What the fuck happened, exactly? Do we know?”

Joel furrowed his brown, and his eyes darkened. “Ryan hasn’t woken up yet – which is unusual, since psychics tend to be more resistant to other psychic abilities, but Burnie could be having something to do with that. But Gavin told his side of the story.” Then, mimicking Gavin’s voice perfectly, Joel explained, “He said, ‘They had a new vaccine and they injected us with it. It seemed to work at first, but then it just bloody vamped up our powers of something.” It was eerie, hearing Gavin’s voice come out of Joel’s mouth. Ray wasn’t quite used to Joel’s ability, mostly because the older man didn’t use it in the presence of others often.

The two entered the podcast area, where Burnie was sitting so he could have a hand on both Gavin and Ryan at the same time. The man looked exhausted, but simply dampening the mutants’ abilities without contact didn’t seem to work well enough at the moment. So Burnie was exerting almost all of his energy so that Gavin could speak and Ryan wouldn’t wake up and go berserk again. Jack was sitting in the armchair nearest Ryan. Geoff was apparently taking a nap in the corner, and Michael was standing behind the section of the couch Gavin was reclining on. The second search party had quit halfway through the day, unable to miss any more work, and had gone at the end of the workday. Burnie’s tense face relaxed into a smile when Joel and Ray entered.

“Ray! I’m so glad to see you up and walking. Gavin and Michael told me what happened.”

Ray scratched his head and shrugged, but immediately regretted the action as his shoulder flashed in pain. He flinched. Burnie noticed and frowned again. “What’s up with Geoff?” Ray asked, hoping to divert attention away from himself.

“Healing your ankle seemed to take a lot of his energy,” said Burnie. “according to Gavin, it was in really bad shape.”

“Yeah, way to be a fucking self-sacrificing moron,” Michael spat. “That was the fucking dumbest thing I ever saw you do!”

Ray started to grow angry and took a step forward. Joel threw out his hand to block Ray, and Jack interrupted them before the two could get into a spat. “No, without Ray distracting Ryan, I wouldn’t have had time to knock him out. Yeah, it was dumb, but it’s not something you should get angry about!”

Michael sighed and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. Gavin reached up with a hand and squeezed his arm gently. “I just… got kind of scared, okay?” Michael admitted to the floor. His eyes flicked up to meet Ray’s, stubbornness making them glint. “I thought he was gonna fucking snap you in half.”

Ray’s injuries felt more conspicuous now, and it was his turn to look at the floor. Joel opened his mouth to say something when a groan was emitted from the couch. Silence descended heavily upon the room as everyone turned to look at Ryan. The gent stirred and blinked rapidly for a few seconds, taking in his new surroundings. He pushed himself up with one arm, Burnie holding on to his other, and flinched as he clenched his hand.

“Ow… What happened?”

“We were hoping you could tell us,” Burnie said. Ryan looked at Burnie’s hand on his arm briefly, then experimentally wiggled his fingers. Dried blood was caked on his knuckles and on the back of his hand.

“Well, I think my knuckles are possibly fractured,” he said with a grimace.

“We’ll get Geoff on that when he wakes up,” said Joel impatiently. “What happened after you went missing?”

“Hmm… They took us to a building somewhere downtown, didn’t really see where. They sedated us when they captured us, so I don’t remember much. When I woke up, we were in a small room, and then they came in and administered the vaccine. I _think_ she called it an updated vaccine? I’m having trouble remembering many of the details…”

“Just do your best. Gavin already gave us some details,” encouraged Burnie.

Ryan furrowed his brow in concentration, staring hard at nothing. “After a short while, I noticed I couldn’t sense any creatures around. But then, I started getting these headaches that progressively got worse and worse.” He glanced across Burnie to look at Gavin. “I think around the same time, your throat started bothering you?”

Gavin nodded. “Yeah. I went on a little rant, and when that sort of made your ears ring, we started to realize that…”

“That our powers were suddenly vamping up uncontrollably,” Ryan completed for Gavin. He gazed around the room. “Where I couldn’t sense any creatures before, I was suddenly sensing them in a far greater radius than usual. I figured it was only a matter of time before… before something happened.”

“Which was…?” Burnie egged on.

At Ryan’s befuddled look of concentration, Gavin spoke up again. “That was when he turned to me and apologized in advance for whatever was going to happen. What _did_ happen, Ryan?”

Ryan’s eyebrows drew together, and he chewed his lower lip. “I… I don’t really remember. I think… I remember feeling a sudden surge? Like, when I borrow strength from a certain animal… Except I couldn’t locate where the energy was coming from. Possibly having more than one source, and was drawn to me by force.” His look turned worried. “I don’t remember anything after that.”

“You went bloody crazy, that’s what,” Gavin said bluntly. Ryan’s eyes widened.

“I… did? I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?” The room fell silent and Ryan glanced around, looking at everybody. “Did I hurt anyone?”

“You didn’t kill anyone,” Jack said as gently as possible. “You caused a lot of destruction, though.”

Ryan looked down at his bloody knuckles, then up at Ray, who was more or less standing directly in front of him. Ray quickly folded his arms behind his back, but there was nothing he could really do – Ryan spotted the scrapes and bruises and dried blood. Ray wanted to say something, but he felt paralyzed by the gent’s pale eyes.

“Did I hurt anyone?” Ryan repeated, softly this time, knowing the answer.

Jack let out a heavy sigh. “Ryan, when we found you, you attacked us. Geoff used his indestructibility to try and defend us from you, but you threw him into a building. I – I needed time to build up a psychic blast, so Ray distracted you.” Ryan’s gaze never left Ray’s quickly-warming face. “Geoff healed the really bad injuries, but the effort made him exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” said Ray when Ryan’s expression grew pained. Ryan didn’t look convinced. He looked as though his recent past actions were weighing on his shoulders, like Atlas holding up the sky. “It’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” Ray added quickly when Ryan opened his mouth.

“But I could have seriously hurt you, or – or _killed_ you!”

“But you didn’t,” insisted Ray. He hated all this sudden attention, hated the look on Ryan’s face, hated the gent’s drowning eyes. “You didn’t, and even if you did, it’s not your fault.”

“It’s the damn AMO’s fault,” hissed Joel. He looked at Burnie with glittering, dark eyes. “We need to do something about this. We need to reveal ourselves before they reveal us.”

“We’d be painting targets on our heads!” Burnie protested.

“ _There’s already targets on our heads_ ,” Joel shouted, his voice rough and throaty with anger. He flung his hand out to gesture angrily at Gavin and Ryan. Burnie recoiled, and Joel took a few steps forward. “There are targets on our heads _right now_ and this proves it. We need to do something so that less people _shoot at it_. We can’t hide anymore.”

Burnie looked at a loss for words. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to respond as his phone started ringing in his pocket. He glanced at Gavin. “Uh, can you get that for me? That’s Matt’s ringtone.” Gavin dug the phone out of Burnie’s pocket, put it on speaker, and put it on the table in front of him. Matt’s voice crackled up from it, and everyone awake crowded around it.

“Burnie! Did you see the news?” Matt’s voice was frantic.

“No, I didn’t. What’s wrong?”

“Am I on speaker? Are you with the others?” At Burnie’s affirmation, Matt said, “Go turn on the news!”


	11. A Change Would Do You Good

Geoff was roused and updated, and an iPad was retrieved. As Joel quickly tapped the screen, Geoff sat on the arm of the couch and lightly touched Ryan’s knuckles. There was a loud, dry cracking noise, and Ryan’s fractured knuckles healed themselves. Geoff pulled away and swayed, threatening to topple from his perch, but Ryan quickly grabbed him and steadied him.

“I’m tired as dicks,” Geoff grumbled. He glanced wearily at Ray. “Want to be healed, too? I know I missed a little.”

Ray shrugged with his uninjured shoulder. “Nah, if you’re fucking tired, I don’t wanna make it worse.”

“Suit yourself,” Geoff said, but he looked visibly relieved.

“I’ve got it,” Joel announced, and he quickly turned up the volume on the iPad. He squeezed between the couch and table and held the iPad at an angle so that everyone could see the screen.

The local news station was doing a report on the destruction of a couple streets in Austin. Cars, street lamps, and newsstands were toppled over and scattered amongst glittering shards of glass, as seen from an aerial view. As the helicopter followed the path of destruction, Ryan’s hands curled into fists on his lap. “I did that?” he whispered. In response, Burnie gently squeezed his arm. The helicopter reached the end of the destruction, a final scene with the smashed police car still there with the lamppost stuck on its roof and an entire section of the brick wall crumbled into a pile. The camera focused most interestingly on the two indents in the wall across the street, each about the size of a fist.

As the camera rolled, a newscaster narrated over the images. She did her best to explain the situation, but there wasn’t much information and witnesses conflicted with each other. The police officers seemed mainly confused, discussing how a man talked to them, but they couldn’t remember what had happened, nor could they remember the man’s face very well. They remembered a beard and glasses, and that was it. Some witnesses from the street said they don’t remember really what was happening; they remembered a madman running through the streets, but surely _one man_ couldn’t cause this destruction? It _had_ to have been a bomb, or some sort of vehicle. But the only thing the witnesses had in common was a person.

“It’s only a matter of time before AMO steps in,” Joel said quietly.

Burnie frowned. “Would they really want to expose mutants _now_?”

“Joel’s right.” Everyone looked up to see Matt, who had entered the room without them noticing. He looked tired and stressed, shadows deep under his eyes, but he kept his face as relaxed as possible. “There’s conflicting information, but eventually it will all point to one thing – humans having seemingly impossible abilities.” He looked at Burnie, Joel, and Geoff in turn. “This is proof of destruction, which means that the AMO will use this as a prime example against us.”

“Do you wanna just fucking admit to the crime?” Burnie said, his voice rising a little. His hand tightened on Ryan's arm.

“Of course not,” Matt said immediately, raising his hands defensively. “But…” He sighed and looked at Geoff. “I think it’s time.” Joel grinned widely, but before he could say anything, Matt amended, “I want to reveal to Roosterteeth first. We can’t pull the rug out from underneath them. And when we reveal to more people, Burnie remains hidden. Caleb can too, if he wants, since AMO doesn’t know about him yet either.”

Burnie sighed, defeated. “If that’s what you really want… We can announce it at next Monday’s meeting.”

“No,” Joel said. “It’s gotta be sooner than that. Tomorrow.”

“We need time to prepare,” Burnie argued. “Friday morning.” Joel grunted in reluctant agreement.

“Oh and one more thing,” Matt said, smoothing his shirt nervously before clenching his fists at his side. Joel narrowed his eyes, and Geoff sat up a little straighter. “There’s… more. More mutants.”

“ _What?_ ” the room cried in unison. Matt flinched as Geoff stood up.

“You fucking lied to us again!” he accused.

“I wanted to tell you guys!” Matt said, taking a step back. “I just… it never seemed like the right time.”

“I _asked_ you,” Geoff hissed, striding forward. “I fucking _asked_ you if there were more, and you said there weren’t!”

“If I recall,” Matt said, fighting to stay calm, “I said that us thirteen were the only ones who knew. The rest are in the dark and for now I think it’s best they stay that way. For their own safety. If we’ve become targets for AMO, then I don’t want them under fire either. If any accidents happen, we will be able to handle it.”

“You’re a real son of a bitch,” Geoff said, but as much as he hated to admit it, Matt was at least partially right. The less the others knew, the safer they would be. For now. “Who are they?”

Matt shook his head. “I don’t want you treating them any different, or telling them behind my back.”

 “Don’t you trust –?”

“I do, Geoff, but you’ve gone behind my back before,” Matt reminded him. Geoff glanced at the ground, sheepish. “It is my duty to keep them safe, and for now that means keeping that information to myself.”

Geoff gritted his teeth and whirled to face the rest of the mutants. “You can’t agree with this!” he nearly shouted, jabbing his finger behind him at Matt. He looked at each person in turn. Ray rubbed his shoulder awkwardly and avoided his gaze. Michael refused to meet his eyes, his shoulders tight. Gavin gave him an apologetic expression. Ryan chewed his lower lip and stared at his feet. Only Jack looked like he might agree with Geoff, scratching his beard thoughtfully, but he knew he was outvoted and didn’t say anything. Geoff visibly deflated.

“This conversation is over,” Matt said officially. “For now, we need to figure out what to do with Ryan and Gavin.”

Matt walked over to the couch and placed a hand on Gavin and Ryan in turn. As he did so, he explained how his power worked more in detail. “I don’t just identify. When I scan, I’m looking at your very DNA. I might be able to see what’s wrong here.” He spent a long time in front of both of them, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. Ryan looked especially nervous, still feeling guilty about what had transpired. He stared anxiously at Matt as the CEO concentrated for nearly two whole minutes. Finally, Matt stood and stretched.

“I found the anomaly,” he announced. “There appears to be a virus that’s attacking the mutation itself. Hmm… Geoff, come here.” Geoff frowned in confusion but obeyed. Matt grabbed his hands and closed his eyes, scanning the gent almost as long as he did for Ryan. Then Matt sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, so the way that your power works _exactly_ is that it takes what the body does naturally and helps it along. So, if I tell you exactly how to find this virus and fix it, could you heal them?”

Geoff stared at his hand before answering. “I can barely fucking control what I heal. I could fucking try, but…”

“Please try,” Ryan piped up, his voice strained. Geoff needed to only glance at Ryan’s face to nod sharply.

“I’ll try.”

Geoff sat on the edge of the table in front of Ryan. Matt kneeled next to him and told him the specific scientific details. To most people it was all but unfathomable. Geoff himself barely understood it. Something about a virus targeting the mutation itself, which forced the body to try and defend itself. Eventually, it seemed, the virus would be taken care of by the body’s natural defenses, but that could take up to two weeks, and Ryan could not risk waiting that long. Not with the possibility of him going berserk again. Geoff wouldn’t be able to kill the virus directly, but he might be able to encourage the immune system, boost it and create more white blood cells.

Geoff took both of Ryan’s hands in his. With some hesitation, Burnie lifted his hand from Ryan’s arm. Immediately, his hands began to buzz as his ability tried to start healing Ryan’s lighter injuries – his bruises and scrapes. Geoff closed his eyes and reined that feeling back, trying first to contain it. He envisioned himself grabbing it like it was a ball. His grip on Ryan tightened, making the other gent wince. He silently ordered this buzzing sensation down, deep into Ryan’s flesh, ordered it into his very bloodstream. He called out to the white blood cells, tried to encourage them to make more. Ryan let out a shuddering gasp as his every inch of him began being healed. It was borderline painful as he started to lose feeling in his limbs.

“Geoff, be careful,” Matt said, raising a hand to touch Geoff’s shoulder before changing his mind. Geoff made no indication that he heard Matt. Ryan cringed and bared his teeth, his jaw clenched tight. Sweat began to bead at his hairline. Every muscle was tense. His entire body felt like it had fallen asleep, the prickling feeling numbing his skin. And then it all abruptly stopped. Geoff’s face relaxed suddenly, and with a soft exhale he fell. Matt caught him as the room gasped in shock.

“Geoff!” Gavin cried, shooting up from the couch. Burnie lurched forward, struggling to keep a hold on the lad.

“ _Idiot_ ,” Matt said angrily. “Fucking _moron_! I fucking _told_ you to be careful!” He hoisted Geoff awkwardly away from the table to lay him more comfortably on the ground. He quickly grabbed Geoff’s wrist and felt for a pulse. Geoff was breathing faintly, and according to Matt, his pulse was light and quick. “He over-exerted himself,” Matt said with an exasperated sigh. “He should be fine…” He glanced up at Ryan, whose hands were visibly shaking. Ryan knew what he was going to ask before he even spoke.

“I – I think it worked,” Ryan said cautiously. He shook his head fiercely as if to clear it and wiped his forehead. “Everything _feels_ like it’s going back to normal…”

“Then it probably is,” Matt said. He looked at Gavin when he said, “I don’t think Geoff should try this again. Will you be okay?”

Gavin grinned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Ah, yeah, I suppose. I just – need to remember not to talk for a while, yeah? Just… Just two weeks, you said?”

“If we’re lucky, it’ll be less than that,” Matt said. “Depends on your immune system. Geoff _might_ want to try again on you, but I don’t want him to.”

“How is he gonna fucking work?” Ray asked, speaking for the first time in what felt like a long while. “If he can’t talk…” Matt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The floor was getting a lot of attention today.

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t have all the fucking answers. I just… I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, that sure is a chapter.


	12. Before the Worst

Geoff was unconscious for a long time. It took three hours to rouse him at least slightly, at which point Matt drove him home and helped him up the stairs. He was awake barely long enough to stumble over to his couch, where he flopped down and promptly fell back asleep. The rest of the identified mutants were called and updated. Gavin spent the night trying to remember not to speak, and Ryan spent the night tossing and turning with insomnia. Ray, however, spent his Tuesday night in the Astral Plane with Chetan Bhattacharya.

When he projected, he was a lot farther away from the glowing crystal ocean than he normally was. He frowned, but it wasn’t too unusual. He didn’t seem to have all that much control over where he projected into the Astral Plane. He started to drift down to the crystal when he heard it. The whispering. They were wordless, just soft hushing sounds.  Like a ghostly hand cupping his chin, he turned with them, staring up at the celestial spheres orbiting far above. As he stared up at one of the spheres, one with a star encased inside, he began to float upwards. His vision became filled with the star, his ears filled with the whispering.

There was a pressure on his chest, and he was shoved down, closer to the glowing crystal below him. He shook his head like a dog shaking off water and saw Chetan hovering above him, having just pushed him.

“What were you doing?” Chetan said around a clenched jaw. It looked like it took every bit of effort to stop from shouting.

Ray blinked rapidly, still confused as to what had happened. The whispering had faded. “I – I don’t know,” he admitted. Chetan actually looked scared and nervous. The Indian ran a hand through his hair and floated down, putting a hand on Ray’s shoulder and dragging him down with him.

“You were going up to the crystals,” Chetan said. “You didn’t seem to hear me when I called your name.” He bit his lip. “I think you should go back to your body. I don’t think you should access the Astral Plane for a while.”

“No, Chetan, wait,” Ray sputtered. He slid out from under Chetan’s hand. “We keep fucking finding excuses to cut these meetings short. I _need_ you to teach me how to project to someone. In case my friends go missing again, I – I can’t be fucking useless again.”

Chetan ran another hand through his hair, making some of it stand almost straight up. He wanted to teach Ray, help him and get his help in return. But it was more important to keep Ray safe. He fixed Ray with a dark stare. “Ray, I’m sorry, and I wish I could teach you personally. It would be infinitely easier this way, but we’ll figure something out. And boy do I wish I had your help still. But I’m afraid it’s no longer safe for you to be in the Astral Plane.”

“But…!”

“Leave, Ray!” Chetan’s eyes were wild, and he actually drifted up a few inches to lean over Ray. “Leave, before the obsession takes you.”

The obsession. That was what this was about? Ray felt himself grow angry. He wasn’t obsessed. He wasn’t! He couldn’t be. He was just curious about the celestial spheres – as any human would be. What right did Chetan have to make this assumption about him? What right…? He opened his mouth to protest before catching himself.

What was he thinking? What kind of thought process was this? He closed his mouth, stared at Chetan, and woke up before he could change his mind.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Gavin took a sick day off of work. Geoff stopped by his home and insisted on trying to heal him as well. He found Gavin lounging on his couch with a glass of orange juice with the local news playing. Gavin tried to refuse being healed, but Geoff pointed out that he was a lot better rested now, it wouldn’t happen again. He promised that if he was about to pass out again, he would stop. Gavin reluctantly agreed, not really willing to be out of control of his power for much longer. After a night of rest, anyway, it was already better, but the sooner Gavin was back to normal, the better. Geoff sat down with Gavin. It took less time than it did for Ryan, but Gavin started squealing so much that Geoff nearly toppled off the couch. Geoff didn’t pass out, but when he was done he looked ready to.

“Bloody hell,” Gavin squawked, shaking his hands out. “I feel like my whole body’s gone bloody numb.” But at the very least, his ability felt under control again. He still took the sick day to be safe. It might very well still take a day or two to return completely to normal.

Geoff sighed, exhausted. “Yeah, not much better on my end.” He turned to look at the TV and rubbed his eyes. Gavin followed his gaze and stiffened, his eyes going wide. Geoff’s expression soon mimicked his as they watched the newscaster bring a woman on screen. A woman with a white lab coat worn over a collared shirt. A blonde woman with hair slicked back into a ponytail. Gavin began to whine and shake. Geoff’s limbs felt like lead, but still he scooted over and put his arm around the lad’s shoulder.

“Th-that’s her,” he sputtered.

“Hush up,” Geoff said bluntly, feeling the boy tremble against him. Christ, Gavin had seemed fine when they had found him again, but clearly his memories were not quite pleasant. “Let’s hear what she has to say.”

“We have here with us today Lily Harlow, who claims to have information on the destruction yesterday. Miss Harlow, what caused this?” asked the newscaster. He shuffled his papers and looked pointedly at her as the helicopter shots from before played on the green screen behind them.

The woman’s nostrils flared, and her brown eyes glittering gold in the harsh studio lighting. “I am a _doctor_ , thank you. I worked hard for my PhD.”

“Uh… right, sorry,” the newscaster said, obviously flustered. “ _Doctor_ Harlow?”

She coughed lightly into her fist to clear her throat. “Believe it or not, this destruction was caused by a human – let me finish! I have devoted my career as a scientist to studying this. It appears that a mutation causes supernatural powers to manifest in a small percentage of the population. One of these mutants,” she said, her mouth curling around the word _mutants_ , “went on a dangerous rampage with obvious shows of super strength.”

The newscaster looked like he was trying his hardest not to laugh. He took an almost imperceptible deep breath in through his nostrils before speaking. “You’re meaning to tell me that superheroes caused this?” He glanced off screen, but obviously whoever was there wanted this to continue being broadcast. Could some people in the news station be a part of AMO? Geoff wouldn’t doubt it.

“They’re far from superheroes,” Lily Harlow said with a sneer. Then she quickly smoothed her expression over into a more pitying look. “They’re poor, broken humans with little control over the powers they possess. I am a part of a team desperately trying to cure them.”

“One human – did this,” the newscaster asked again, his voice falling flat at the end of his question. “Who?”

Lily Harlow shrugged. “I wish I knew. If you still don’t believe me, though, talk to the witnesses again. The police officers were all confused, weren’t they? But they remembered _people_. No bombs, no machines, just people. One of the perpetrator’s friends must be a mutant with persuasive powers who no doubt abused his ability to save his _buddy_.”

The newscaster seemed to digest these words for a short while, glancing once again off screen. Geoff, too, frowned. AMO wasn’t admitting that they knew who the perpetrator was – probably because if they did, they’d also have to admit to their own surely illegal practice. But Roosterteeth couldn’t implicate them either, or else get arrested as well… It’s not like the Roosterteeth mutants have been little angels. It seemed the two groups were at a standstill with each other. The newscaster cleared his throat and said, “Ah, well, thank you, _Doctor_ Lily Harlow. This, ah, was an enlightening interview, and we thank you for your time.”

Lily Harlow nodded, her eyes narrowing. “I am only trying to help and raise awareness,” she said. “I advise anyone who knows someone who might be a mutant, or just wants to educate themselves, to visit our website.” A url was displayed across the bottom of the screen.

The camera view switched to see only the newscaster. He looked directly at the camera when he concluded, “That was Doctor Lily Harlow from the American Mutant Organization. This is certainly some… _interesting_ information. Check out their website to learn more about all this. Now, here’s John with the weather…”

By the end of the interview, Gavin had finally stopped shaking. Geoff rubbed the lad’s shoulder comfortingly. “We’re too late,” Gavin said in a small voice, surprising the gent. “They beat us to the punch.”

Geoff squeezed Gavin’s arm. “Don’t give up yet. It will take time for people to digest this. Many probably won’t believe it, unless they’ve had first-hand experience with mutants. But with Roosterteeth going public… Well, there’s always going to be people against us. But the important thing is that some people will be on our side.” Gavin nodded into Geoff’s chest. Geoff gave a final squeeze and separated himself from the lad. “Get some rest. I’m late.”

 

* * *

 

At work, Caleb and Lindsay greeted Ryan with hugs. Kerry and Miles also stopped by when they were free to give embrace the gent tightly, glad to see him again. The poor man looked nearly as tired as Geoff, and seemed to startle at every unexpected sound. All day, Jack seemed to feel anxious and constantly on edge. Ray was constantly zoning out. Michael was just happy to have Gavin and Ryan back and safe, and seemed the most cheerful he had been since the rescue mission. Everyone else was exhausted. Everyone was ready for the end of the day by the time it came.

Geoff got the Achievement Hunters’ attention before anyone got the chance to go home, including Caleb and Lindsay. Lindsay already had to wait for Michael, but Geoff waved at Caleb as he headed for the door. “Tomorrow morning, I want you guys here early to make a special video.”

Ray hadn’t been paying attention, and when Michael nudged him, he jumped. “Huh? Special video?”

Geoff’s moustache twitched as he shot Ray a look. “For the public. I want to film us as mutants, and release it to the public on Monday. I’ll do the editing, just be here ready to perform in the morning. Matt’s also going to be writing a journal entry.”

“Will they believe us?” Jack asked quietly, dry-washing his hands.

Geoff shrugged. “Whether or not they do is up to them. Not my fucking problem. The important thing is that there will be people who do, and I’m hoping that those people will be on our side. So long as AMO doesn’t fucking ruin our image entirely before we can make one.”

“But what about – yesterday?” Ryan asked hesitantly. He glanced from face to face. Jack reached out and patted his shoulder.

“We won’t mention it,” Geoff said simply. “If you don’t want, you don’t have to say what you do, just admit you’re a mutant, too.” That seemed to mollify Ryan a bit. He nodded.

“And me?” Caleb asked.

“AMO doesn’t know about you,” Geoff pointed out, “so it’s up to you whether or not you want to admit to being a mutant. It’s probably safer if you don’t join us in the video.”

Caleb nodded grimly. “You’re probably right. I – I think I will be more useful hidden.”

Geoff clapped his hands once, officially ending that train of conversation. “Right, well, I will see all you fucks tomorrow morning. Gavin should be well enough to join us in the video.” Jack narrowed his eyes but let Geoff finish talking. “And I expect you all to be at Friday’s meeting. Matt’s sending out an email about it tomorrow.”

Most of the Achievement Hunters made to leave, but Jack lagged behind, pulling Geoff aside. “You went and healed Gavin, didn’t you?” he asked accusingly.

Geoff crossed his arms and sighed through his nose. “So what if I did?” he said, somewhat childishly.

Jack exhaled sharply, a look of disappointment crossing his face. “You weren’t supposed to fucking do that, Geoff, and you know it! Healing Ryan took a toll on you. You don’t seem to realize how scary it was that you passed out.” He sighed again, searching Geoff’s eyes. Geoff seemed to realize just how worried Jack was. A crease seemed to have formed in the middle of the gent’s brow, and he shifted from foot to foot restlessly. “Don’t push yourself too hard, Geoff. I – you worry us sometimes.”

Geoff’s expression softened. He didn’t _want_ to stress his friend out. He supposed he was getting a little reckless. He figured he had less reason to be careful – he was protected by his mutant abilities after all. But Jack obviously didn’t see it the same way. And he _had_ passed out… Geoff might have been fully prepared to test the limits of his abilities, but Jack wasn’t. Geoff reached out a hand and squeezed Jack’s shoulder.

“Alright, Jack, I’ll be more careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter titles are hard sometimes. Pro-tip: If you name your chapters, give yourself an easier naming scheme.


	13. Hey Brother

 “How many of you have been paying attention to the news recently?” Matt asked. It was Friday morning. All of Roosterteeth’s permanent employees were crammed into a conference room – a large conference room, granted, but the air was already a little stuffy. He wasn’t sure how to start. This was as good a question as any, he supposed.

“What point are you trying to make?” Gus asked bluntly, his face unsympathetic. It was an emergency meeting, there _had_ to be a point. He wasn’t going to let Matt get sidetracked, no matter how nervous he may seem.

“I’m getting there, Gus.” Matt sighed. “Does anyone remember the news story from Tuesday evening?”

“Vaguely,” said Barbara. “It looked like someone punched a couple holes in a wall in Austin?” At the back of the room with the other Achievement Hunters, Ryan’s hands tightened nervously into fists on his lap. He glanced around, but no one was looking at him.

Matt nodded. “There was a follow-up news story the next day, you might have seen. An interview with a woman that was replayed a couple times.”

“ _That_ lady?” Adam Ellis said. “Is this what the meeting is about?” He looked incredulous, and several other people shared his annoyed look. Monty tapped his fingers on his thigh and glanced at the door, and he wasn’t the only one to look at the exit. There was work to be done, and most of them didn’t understand the importance of this meeting.

Matt nodded again, not breaking eye contact with Adam. “Well. She’s partially right. Mutants do exist.”

The room fell as silent as a morgue before abruptly bursting out into laughter. Only thirteen people were not laughing. “She was fucking crazy!” Adam said loudly over the uproar, oblivious to the fact that Joel, sitting next to him, was completely still. “Mutations don’t give superpowers!”

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Kerry stood up, pushing his chair back with a horrendous clattering screech of metal on floor. He thrust out his hands and the room went dark. The laughter choked off, and someone let out a brief scream of surprise. He flailed his arms to the side, and the shadows that clung to the walls of the room pulled and thrummed silently, following the movement of his hands. The shadows congealed along the floor, hiding everyone’s feet, before the darkness retreated like water down a drainpipe towards Kerry. All eyes followed the shadows to stare at Kerry as the darkness faded back to normal underneath his shoes. His face was grim and determined, and his hands fell back to his sides.

Joel stood up suddenly as well, and all heads whipped to look at him. “ _Taisez-vous!_ ” he shouted, his voice suddenly sharp and guttural, sounding exactly like Adam. Then his voice switched to the rich, higher-pitched voice of Barbara. “ _Emitte inai!_ ” His voice changed again, becoming low and smooth like Monty’s. “This is no laughing matter. Mutants are real.”

Adam stood up next to Joel, lurching out of his chair surprisingly quickly. He faced Joel, his brow drawn down in mixed confusion and frustration. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if you want me to fucking believe that _mutations_ … _Fucking hell!_ ” Adam shouted suddenly as Ray rose up from the floor between him and Joel, rotating like a hologram. Except that there wasn’t enough space for a person between him and Joel. Instead, bits of his body were inside Joel and Adam. Adam stumbled back as Ray grinned mischievously, if not slightly maliciously. Ray hovered a few inches above the ground and floated forward.

“Believe us yet?” Ray asked, smiling but anger lacing his words and making his voice loud. With a blink, he disappeared, and he stood up from his seat near the back. Adam didn’t seem to have anything else to say. His face was red like he was trying to speak, but try as he might his mouth wouldn’t function. He fell back into his seat with a heavy thump.

Before anyone else could start shouting – and boy did it look like a great many employees wanted to bring the motherfucking ruckus – Matt spoke up again. “Mutants are real, and some of us are mutants. I called this meeting today because the American Mutant Organization is real, too. It’s real and we’re real, and they are dead set on targeting us, of setting the public against us. I called this meeting today because you are employees of Roosterteeth, but most importantly you’re our friends as well, and we’re done lying to you.

“I’m not asking much of you. All I ask is your acceptance and support. Nothing has changed about us.” He glanced at Burnie, who stood. The mutant Achievement Hunters took their cue, and the rest of them stood as well as Matt continued. After a brief hesitation, Miles joined the standing party. All thirteen mutants were now standing. “We are revealing this to you because we trust you. Because this is an issue that is on the edge of becoming big. I can feel it. The American Mutant Organization wants to find a cure, a cure that we don’t need and that will likely never work because there is nothing to _be_ cured. To do this, they are willing to do _anything_. We want to oppose them, to show the truth to the public, the truth that _they_ hide. And to do that we need your support.”

Matt’s speech ended in a swift huff of exhaled air. His hands were trembling and his palms sweaty at his side, but he kept his shoulders back and his back straight. The room was silent as its occupants digested this information. He counted the dead seconds in his mind. Ten, eleven, twelve…

With a slow scraping of chair legs, Kdin, the last seated Achievement Hunter, slowly stood. He inhaled deeply through his nose before stating, “I had guessed that there was something going on I didn’t know. I don’t know how I feel yet about being lied to for who knows how long, but… Well, you’re still my friends and co-workers.” He sniffed. “And if someone, some group, is against you… Of course you have my support.”

Adam stood again, his eyes downcast and his face still pink. “Joel, I’m sorry I shouted – I just – didn’t fucking…” Joel cut him off with a tight but brief embrace.

Barbara stood. “I don’t – quite understand, but…”

One after another, with murmurs of agreement and confusion, the Roosterteeth employees all stood, until only Gus was left. Matt looked at him pointedly. Gus sighed and stood, grumbling, “I don’t understand why we have to stand up…” He pointed jerkily at Matt, though. “I’ve still got questions, though.”

Matt glanced at Burnie, whose eyes were shining strangely bright in the harsh fluorescent lighting. His face was tight and red, but he was smiling, and when he made eye contact with Matt, he quickly turned away and rubbed his eyes with a sleeve. Matt swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and clapped his hands once to grab attention again.

“I understand that you will have questions. We will answer them to the best of our abilities. I – Thank you. I love you all.” He took a deep breath, then broke into a large grin. All at once, the tension in the room broke like a cathedral window shattering in slow motion.

This time, everyone in the room was laughing.

* * *

   
Geoff wanted to be in a good mood for the rest of Friday. He should have been. The meeting had gone well – it could have been better, but it still ended as they had hoped. Matt and Burnie had taken care of everyone’s questions as the Achievement Hunters went back to work. It was a bit of a relief to have the secret out. He wouldn’t have to fight Burnie and Matt about it anymore. But still his neck itched with anticipation, and his voice cracked with nervousness. He couldn’t shake this feeling of unrest.

It got to the point that when the end of the day approached and Caleb prepared to leave, Geoff called him back. He made one last final save and pulled out the flashdrive stuck in his computer. He stood up and handed the flashdrive to Caleb, who took it with a bewildered look.

“That has the completed video on it,” Geoff said, grabbing his hoodie from the back of his chair and draping it over his arm. “The one that we filmed yesterday? I spent like, all fucking night on it.”

Caleb frowned. “Then, why are you giving it to me?”

Geoff sighed and glanced off to the side. “I want you to make sure it gets published on Monday. Look – don’t ask why I’m making you do it. Just do it, okay?”

Caleb furrowed his brow but nodded. “Of course. Uh, good night, then. Have a nice weekend.”

Geoff watched Caleb leave before running a hand through his already messy hair and blowing a sigh out through puffed cheeks. He didn’t want Caleb to question him because he wasn’t sure he knew the answer. Christ, he must be getting paranoid. He just couldn’t shake his ominous feeling. Either way, he felt better having Caleb take care of a copy. It was insurance.

* * *

   
The flashdrive seemed to irritate Caleb’s hand. As much as he rubbed his palm after he got home, his palm still seemed to itch where he had gripped the flashdrive tightly. He tried to relax at home, but his palm kept his mind on the flashdrive. He hadn’t been a part of the video – not even in the recording part. This was in part because he hadn’t gotten to work yet when it was filmed, and partly for his own protection, so that they wouldn’t accidentally include him.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He lurched off of the couch, where he had been watching TV, and took the flashdrive to his computer. He carefully copied the video to his computer and then safely took the flashdrive out again. Then, with a nervous glance behind him to make sure he was still alone, double clicked the new file.

The video started off normal enough. Jack was the first to speak, acting very much like it was a normal AHWU. But almost as soon as he had finished saying “This is Jack from Achievement Hunter,” the screen bent and went fuzzy. Geoff apparently had taken some editorial liberties. Mostly it just reminded Caleb of some 1984 shit. When the video came back, Geoff was now speaking into the microphone. His normal smile and swaying energy was gone. He stood stock still and looked directly into the camera, one hand holding the mic, the other down by his side.

At almost every pause in a sentence, or at the end of every sentence, there was a jump cut, and someone new was speaking. The video was short, lasting less than two minutes, but it cycled through the six Achievement Hunter men and Lindsay. It explained very shortly what had been basically explained at the meeting earlier that day. What mutants were, what the AMO was and their stance on mutants, the like. It also mentioned that questions asked will be answered.

As it explained the sort of effects the mutations had on people, a few Achievement Hunters gave examples. Michael burned through a piece of paper. Lindsay disappeared completely when they turned the lights off, before popping back into sight and grinning. Ray did one line as a projection, before Gavin stuck a hand through his chest. Ray’s astral projection seemed oddly bright and blurry on camera, like when someone tried to take a video of a TV screen with their phone.

 Near the end, Geoff said that all they really wanted was support. Nothing would change, just your awareness. But mostly – and as he said this, there was final jump cut where now he stood surrounded by the other six mutants – he wanted those who may be mutants or know mutants to reach out. To share. To know they’re no longer alone.

The video ended and Caleb closed the window with a sniff.

* * *

   
That Friday night, with Arryn mere inches away, Miles had the best night of sleep since the rescue mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this whole story more or less before I knew Matt Bragg and Jeremy were going to be a part of Achievement Hunter permanently (and definitely before they made more regular appearances). So this is all sort of pre-them AH (though who knows? Maybe they'll show up.)


	14. The Hounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanna say -- Since this story was planned/written before certain developments, not all "information" is up to date. That is: Tina is still just Ray's friend in this story, and Matt and Jeremy are not yet working at AH. You probably figured this out already, but this is just a disclaimer.
> 
> Also: apologies for lack of updates. I just got out of finals season, so my last few weeks were pretty busy. Enjoy!

Sautrday night. Though it was nearly eight in the evening, Jack and Caiti were still at the dinner table, dishes dirty and empty in front of them. Though she had eaten all the edible portions of her chicken, Caiti twirled her fork between her fingers and poked at the bone.

“Why did you wait so long to tell me?” she asked.

Jack’s hand tightened around his water glass. “I didn’t want to. Matt and Burnie – they wanted to keep it a secret. From everyone. It was just on Friday morning that we told all the permanent employees. I – I was going to tell you last night, but you had been so tired… I didn’t want to stress you out more.”

Caiti reached across the table and put her hand over his on the glass. “Jack, I still love you, but I just wish you had told me sooner. But look me in the eye and answer this question. Did you ever use your ability on me?”

“No,” Jack said earnestly, shaking his head and staring intensely into Caiti’s eyes. “No, I would never do that.” Caiti seemed to be satisfied with this answer and nodded sharply. She gently squeezed his hand, and he smiled.

The doorbell going off made Caiti jerk her hand away in surprise. Jack jumped in his chair and twisted around to look in the direction of the front door, two rooms away. Without speaking, Jack got up and walked through two doorways to the entrance hall. Through the windows he could see two shadowy figures standing a pace away from the door. Caiti followed him and paused in the doorway. Jack nodded at Caiti and said in a low voice, “Stay back.”

Jack wasn’t sure why he had such a bad feeling about this. Perhaps it was because it was fairly late in the evening, too late for random guests to stop by. Perhaps he had felt it had been too good for too long, and that karma was going to come back and slam him. He tugged the door open to reveal the two men on his doorstep. The two figures wore black business suits that looked weirdly bulky on them and wore sunglasses even though it was past eight in the evening. One of them was holding a black, bizarre device that reminded Jack of those bass fishing handheld games, with a handle relatively reminiscent of a fishing rod and a bulky, box-like head with a row of small round lights. Uniquely, it had a pale rod sticking out of the top.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” Jack asked.

One of the men, the one not holding the device, smiled warmly and extended his hand. “Hello, you must be Mr. Pattillo, then? We’re from American Investments, and we were hoping you could answer a survey for us.”

Jack took the man’s hand in an effort to be polite. The man’s grip suddenly tightened, and the second man’s hand dart out to grab Jack’s wrist. Before Jack could react, the pale rod on the device was shoved into his wrist, and he hissed as a needle pricked his skin. He jerked back and stumbled back into his house. Caiti started to move forward, but Jack shook his head. Luckily, the two men were studying the device and didn’t notice her. There were five lights on the device, and the first four lit up in white in slow succession. When the last light turned green, the two men snapped their heads up.

“You’re from AMO, aren’t you,” Jack said, rubbing his wrist.

“Well done, Jack Pattillo,” the smiling man said dryly. “And it seems you’ve proven our new device works. You’ll be coming with us, now, for some… further tests.”

The two men took a step forward, and Jack opened his mouth, panic making him speak quickly and desperately. “ **Your machine doesn’t work. You have gone to the wrong house, and you are going to head back to your headquarters.** ” The two men stopped, frowning as their brows furrowed. Jack clenched his fists. He couldn’t let himself be taken, and he couldn’t let Caiti be put in any danger. He was worried that if they saw her, they would take her too, whether for information about him or as a hostage. Jack’s mind went straight to the worst possible situation.

“ **Leave,** ” he said. The two men in suits glanced at each other. “ **Your machine is broken and did not work. Leave and return to where you came from.** ”

The men took a step back. “We’re terribly sorry to bother you,” the smiling man said. They turned around and headed for their small black car, parked in the street in front of Jack’s house. Jack waited until they started the engine and drove around the corner before he let the tension ease from his shoulders.

Caiti approached from behind him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “That was… amazing and scary,” she said simply. Jack looked at her, stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead.

“I have to call Geoff,” Jack said, closing the front door and locking it. “We… They know where I live, so They probably know where the others live, too.”

“Who are ‘They’, exactly?” Caiti asked as Jack pulled away, pulling out his phone to look through his contacts.

“The American Mutant Organization,” Jack said. He winced as he pressed _call_. His head was starting to throb. “They claim they want to help mutants, like me, but they couldn’t care less. They want to hurt us. They want to hurt us to further their own cause, which is a cure that likely isn’t even possible.” As he put the phone up to his ear, he said, “And now they’re coming after us in our homes. It’s not safe here for me anymore.”

* * *

 

Geoff was watching Griffon load the dishwasher from the couch in the living room, leaning his stomach against the back cushions, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t answer it immediately, lost in his thoughts. He was wondering when a good time would be to tell Griffon. Would she believe him? Or perhaps he should wait until the video was released on Monday? He shook his head and looked at his phone, surprised that Jack was calling him this late.

“Nyello?” Geoff said, flipping over to sit on the couch normally.

“They came for me,” Jack said immediately.

Geoff’s stomach dropped. His head suddenly felt hot and prickly. “Who?” he asked, knowing the answer.

“AMO,” Jack confirmed. “They knocked on my door. They have a new device that tests whether or not you’re a mutant. They’re likely coming for you as well, you and the other Achievement Hunters. They want us. Like… _want_ us.”

“Oh fuck,” Geoff said under his breath. “We need to leave, then.” His heart started pounding painfully in his chest. They were going to have to run. He stood up from the couch. “Pack a bag. Pack a backpack for like, fucking… four days maybe? Stay tight and I’ll…”

Geoff stopped short when he realized Griffon was standing in the doorway, silhouetted against the kitchen light with her arms crossed.

“And why are you leaving?” she asked calmly.

Jack was frantically talking in Geoff’s ear, and finally he said, “Jack, hold on, I’m talking to Griffon.”

“Well?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

* * *

 

Ray was excited to stream that Saturday night. It would be a welcome distraction from this mutant business, and plus it would hopefully help keep him focused. He found himself zoning out more recently, his thoughts drifting back to the Astral Plane, and really he preferred not to think about that place at all. Tina had come over, and after a dinner of Chipotle, he was all set. Tina lay on the couch comfortably behind him, and he was just about ready to make the stream live.

“Which game?” he asked Tina. “Walking Dead or Mario Kart 8?”

Tina shrugged. “I literally do not care at all which one you choose.”

Ray made an ugly face at her and decided on Walking Dead, since the Xbox was already hooked up. He was making sure his levels were all right when there was a knock at his apartment door.

“I’ll get it,” Tina said, pushing herself up from the couch. Ray focused on his computer as she opened the door just wide enough to peer through it.

“Is this the Narvaez residence?” asked a deep voice.

“Yeah? Who’s asking? _H-hey!_ ”

Tina’s exclamation startled Ray. He jumped and spun in his chair to see a large brunet man force the door open with a shoulder and grab Tina’s wrist. His slightly smaller but still beefcake friend darted forward and pressed a strange black device against her skin. Tina yelped and struggled, hitting the arm of her captor uselessly. The lights on the device shone red.

“She’s normal,” said the man with the device. He had a jagged scar following his jawline. The brunet holding Tina shoved her into the kitchen area, where she collided into the counter with an _oof_.

“Hey!” Ray shouted, standing up and striding a few steps forward. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

The brunet looked up and smiled. “And you are Ray Narvaez, Jr.”

“So what if I am?” he said, clenching his fists. These guys forced themselves into his apartment and hurt Tina. There was no way he could like them. “Get the fuck out of my apartment.”

Unfortunately for Ray, he was a skinny young man, and the brunet was about a foot taller than him and maybe a hundred pounds heavier, all of it muscle weight. When the brunet moved towards him, Ray threw a punch. The brunet grabbed his wrist _hard_ and twisted Ray’s arm. Ray howled as his arm rotated in its socket, threatening to dislocate. Ray turned with his arm, and when his back was to the man, the brunet shoved him to the floor, hitting an old bruise and keeping his grip on Ray’s wrist. Ray struggled against the pain until he felt something cold and solid press into the back of his skull. He stilled, sweating nervously and heart beating so fast and hard he thought his whole body was vibrating with each pulse. The bruises on his back from last Tuesday ached, and his shoulder now throbbed. He could hear Tina behind him, shouting at them, but the scarred man warned her to stay in the kitchen and be quiet as he too ambled over to Ray.

“I wouldn’t fight back or even think about astral projecting,” said the brunet in his deep, rumbling voice.

Ray’s breath hitched. “AMO,” he whispered.

“That’s right, honey,” said the scarred man cheerfully. “Now, I wouldn’t move too suddenly as I take a blood sample to test our nifty new machine. Thomas here has fast reflexes and an itchy trigger finger.” Ray’s thoughts were moving quickly, but they were mainly filled with _Oh fuck oh fuck oh God oh fucking God_. He was finding it hard to breathe. The scarred man laughed. “They warned us you would be hard to deal with, but you’re just a scrawny kid. Taking you in for further testing will be a cinch.”

The scarred man crouched and prepared to jab the pale rod of the device into Ray’s arm when a loud clang rang out. The brunet slumped forward with a groan, collapsing on top of Ray. The scarred man jumped to his feet with a “ _What the_ …” but before he could complete the thought, another clang rang out. The scarred man’s head snapped to the side, and he too fell. Tina stood over them, a frying pan raised defensively, her eyes wide with terror. Ray squirmed out from under the brunet and leaped to his feet, massaging his shoulder.

“What the fuck…?” she asked in a quiet, quivering voice. Ray scrambled around his apartment, pulling open drawers and searching for something.

“It’s AMO,” Ray said. He grimaced and groaned. “Fuck, I mean. The American Mutant Organization.” He pulled a roll of duct tape out of a drawer and turned back to the two men. Tina was still in the middle of the room with her frying pan.

“What the fuck?” she asked again, this time frustrated. “Ray, what was that about? He had a fucking gun to your head!”

Ray shivered. He slipped the roll of duct tape around his wrist and clapped his hands on Tina’s upper arms, gently squeezing them. “This is going to sound fucking crazy, but you have to believe me. I am a mutant with the ability to project my consciousness, separate of my body. The other Achievement Hunters, they’re mutants, too. The AMO wants to hurt us, and by the looks of it, they’ve tracked us down with a new identification device and an intent to bring us in for, I don’t know, fucking test monkeys.” Tina stared at him, wide-eyed but never breaking eye contact. “God, fuck, I’m terrible at this. Listen, a video is supposed to come out on Monday explaining everything. Now will you help me tie them up? I need to call Geoff.”

Tina let out a shuddering laugh as Ray let go of her and handed her the duct tape. He yanked his phone out of his pocket. “This is insane,” she said, running a hand through her hair, but she set the frying pan on the nearest counter and crouched by the two unconscious men. “You can’t… If you weren’t just held at gunpoint, I’d call you fucking insane.”

“I don’t blame you,” Ray said. The phone rang and rang, but Geoff never picked up. The line was busy. “God fucking damn it,” he hissed. He swiped through his contacts and punched Michael’s name. His fingers tapped against the back of his phone as he paced back and forth. Tina ripped the duct tape and wrapped it around the brunet’s wrists.

Thankfully, Michael picked up. “Michael,” Ray said, breathless. “It’s the AMO. They’re coming.”

* * *

 

Griffon never moved from the doorway. Geoff had done his best to explain, but he wasn’t sure she understood. He didn’t really want to have to prove his ability to her, either; he didn’t want to freak her out more by trying to cut his finger or something. The house was getting steadily darker when the doorbell rang.

“That’s probably Them,” Geoff said breathlessly. “I – I need to pack, I need to go get Jack, and Gavin and…. God… They want me, not you… Griffon, please just…” He couldn’t find the words, but his voice was straining, pleading, desperate. The doorbell rang again.

“Go upstairs and pack,” Griffon said, unfolding her arms and heading for the door. “I’ll handle this.”

Geoff let out a loud sigh of relief. “Griffon, I fucking love you,” he said, jogging for the stairs and putting his phone back to his ear. “Jack, I’m packing now. I’ll come get you soon.”

Griffon paused at the front door, where three shadowy figures shifted and fidgeted in the porch light. She rolled up her sleeves, tucking them other to show off as much arm as possible, and tied her hair back before opening the door.

“Yes?” she droned, not smiling. There were two men and one woman, all of them in black too-bulky suits. The woman was a quiet-looking, small thing that looked like she could suplex anyone. One of the men was tall and wiry, with a brown haircut that hung into hooded blue eyes. The other man was stockier and beefier with a nose like a squashed tomato and a ruddy complexion to match.

“Excuse me,” said Tomato Nose. “Is this the Ramsey residence?”

“Yeah?” Griffon confirmed in a bored voice. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, completely unafraid.

“May we see Geoff Ramsey, then?” Tomato Nose asked politely, his mouth twitching into a friendly grin.

“Who?”

Tomato Noses’s two companions glanced at him, confused and awkward. Hooded Eyes shifted his weight from foot to foot, the movement exaggerated by his height. “Um… is this not the Ramsey residence…?”

Griffon looked at her nails. “It’s the Ramsey residence alright. But there’s no Geoff here. I think you have the wrong Ramsey.”

“O-oh,” said Tomato Nose. The woman narrowed her eyes.

“May we come inside?” she asked.

Griffon fixed the woman with a cold stare, hoping her overall image would be intimidating enough. “No. If you’ll excuse me, you’ve interrupted me in my chainsaw maintenance.” Before they could reply to that, she slammed the door in their faces. When they timidly knocked again, she snapped the porch light off, throwing them into darkness, and pointedly left the front hall to disappear inside the house.

Upstairs, Geoff watched carefully from his unlit bedroom as the three figures slowly ambled towards their car parked on the street, glancing occasionally back at the house. Geoff didn’t relax until the car wheeled around the corner and disappeared from view. He zipped his backpack shut, grabbed his keys, and hurried down the stairs.

Griffon came out to see him at the base of the stairs. He gripped her arms and planted a kiss on her lips. “You’re fucking awesome,” he said.

“Be safe,” she said, patting him on the cheek. “Don’t leave me in the dark, okay? I won’t be calling you.”

Geoff smiled into her hand. “Of course,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

* * *

 

“It’s the AMO,” said Ray over the phone. “They’re coming.”

Michael’s mouth fell open as he turned to look at Lindsay. They were both relaxing on the couch watching Netflix after dinner in a dark apartment, the TV screen flickering. She frowned at him and opened her mouth to ask a question, but Michael raised a finger in a _just a second_ motion.

“What the fuck do you mean?” he asked in a low voice. He could hear Ray breathing heavily through the speaker as well as the shuffling of clothing and objects.

“I tried calling Geoff, but the line was busy. Some people from the AMO came to my apartment and I’m willing to bet they’re on their way to your place, too. You need to get the fuck out of there.”

Michael shifted his phone away from his mouth to speak briefly to Lindsay. “Yo, gather some clothes and pack our backpacks. We need to leave; I’ll explain in a minute.” Lindsay nodded and leapt lightly to her feet. Michael stood as well and shut the television off and started hunting for his keys and wallet. “Okay, we’re packing. Keep trying to call Geoff and… are you safe enough to stay put for a little while?” Ray affirmed.

“Tina knocked out the two guys who came for me. We’re tying them up.”

Michael shivered. His keys and wallet were on a small table next to the front door of his apartment. He pocketed them quickly and turned back to the dark apartment, hearing Lindsay move in the bedroom. “Jesus fuck. Okay. Listen, keep trying to contact Geoff, and… and call everyone else, too. Lindsay and I will come and pick you up.”

Michael hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. Three sharp knocks at the door made him jump. The apartment was silent and dark, and Michael’s heart began to pound, the echoes of the knocks thrumming in his chest. He made sure not to bump into the door as he peeked through the peep hole to see four men, one of whom had a clunky pair of goggles on his forehead Michael was willing to bet was heat vision. But all of their faces were uncovered, and Michael was quickly forming a plan.

“Lindsay,” he whispered. She tiptoed out of the bedroom, wearing one backpack and holding another. “The AMO is outside. Are you ready to run?”

“Shoes,” she whispered back, handing him a backpack. Michael nodded, shrugging into the backpack’s straps, and as quietly as they could, they slipped sneakers on. The knocks sounded at the door.

“We know you’re in there!” said one of the men, his voice muffled by the door. “We can see your heat signatures!”

Michael glanced back at Lindsay as he approached the door again as calmly as he could. “When I run, you run. Okay?” She sharply nodded and, for good measure, faded invisibly into the shadows. He grabbed the door handle and sucked in the largest amount of air he could, letting it cook in his lungs. He could feel the air churn inside him, similar to when he was sick. He flung the door open and breathed it forcefully out, expelling a thick cloud of greenish, acidic smoke into the hallway. The smoke spilled out of his mouth rapidly, filling their section of the hallway in seconds. The four men staggered back, coughing.

He shoved the nearest guy away, making him collide into his friend with the heat seeking goggles. Lindsay grabbed for Michael’s hand, and the two sprinted down the hallway, Lindsay’s free hand covering her mouth and nose, her eyes squinted against the acid fog.

“Later, fuckers!” Michael called back as they reached the stairs. He allowed himself to laugh, throwing himself against the stair doors and descending with Lindsay, their footsteps and haggard breaths echoing around and around the vacant space.

* * *

 

Ryan was relaxing on a couch with a book when the AMO came for him, one of his dogs napping at his feet. The doorbell rang, and he set his book aside and stood, gently nudging his dog to the side. Right as he opened the door, his phone started buzzing in his pocket, but he didn’t even notice it. Because he knew. He knew who these people were. He staggered back. The svelte mutant, Wayne, was in the back of the group of four men.

“No,” Ryan said softly, eyes wide. “Not again. Not again!”

He stepped back and they stepped forward, and he felt a soft weight land on his shoulder and heard a yowl. His cat jumped onto his shoulder and pushed off, hissing and clawing at the nearest man’s face. The man stumbled back, shouting surprised expletives as he collided with his mates. Ryan’s dog barked and rammed into another man, jumping up and biting at everything it could get its teeth on.

Ryan used the distraction to turn around and flee, sprinting through his house to exit through the back door. _Not again, not again, not again!_ His heart was beating hard, and felt a pull in his gut, an anxious tugging feeling like his stomach was reaching out and drawing things closer to him. He ran through his fenced backyard, pausing only long enough to throw open the gate and glance back at his house to make sure they didn’t follow. He nearly stopped in his tracks completely.

Dark, silhouetted figures of birds were diving at the front of his house. More and more birds of all kinds were joining a spiraling cyclone, a twittering din slowly rising as they attacked the AMO men. It looked kind of like the beginning of a bad horror movie. He shook his head and started sprinting again, moving between two houses and turning to run down the parallel street. As he ran, dogs all along the neighborhood started barking, a thundering roar to mirror his pounding footsteps.

* * *

 

Jack was waiting for Geoff when the latter arrived. Jack jogged to the curb as soon as he saw Geoff’s car and barely waited long enough for Geoff to unlock the door before wrenching it open and sliding into the passenger seat. Jack sighed, relaxing into the seat as Geoff drove off.

“I’ve received a call from Ray,” Jack said. “I told him that you and I know and that we’re both okay. He’s also called Michael and warned him and Lindsay, and supposedly they’re coming to get him.”

Geoff whistled, keeping his eyes on the road. His shoulders were tense, and his grip on the steering wheel was tight. “Okay. That’s good. They’re probably all safe then. Any word from Ryan and Gavin?”

Jack shook his head. “Ray was going to call Ryan and Gavin next, but I don’t know.”

Geoff let out a shaky laugh and shook his head. “Ooh Jack, I’ve got a bad feeling.”

Geoff drove as quickly as the speed limit would allow and then some. Every car going even one mph slower than him brought out curses and violent gestures. Jack couldn’t blame him and instead sat restlessly in the passenger seat, his fingers tapping on his thigh. Turning the last corner to Gavin’s new house confirmed Geoff’s worst fears.

They arrived _en medias res_ , two men carrying a struggling and shouting Gavin between them, each with bulky headphones. A third woman lay on the ground near Gavin’s front door, struggling to stand back up but inevitably falling down again. The two men gripped Gavin’s arms tightly, lifting him a few inches off the ground as they carried him towards a sleek black car parked on the road. Gavin shrieked, making the windows quiver, and kicked wildly. Geoff slammed on the breaks as hard as he could, but before the car had even stopped rolling fully, Jack was opening the door and jumping out.

“ **Drop him!** ” he ordered immediately, shouting as loud as he could. His ears started ringing, and he kept one hand on the car frame to steady himself. He wasn’t even sure that the men with the headphones could hear him, but he willed all of his power into his words, thinking his commands almost as hard as he said them. “ **Let go of Gavin!** ”

The two men shuddered and slackened their grips. Gavin slipped away and stumbled, immediately losing his footing and falling to his ass. He scuttled backwards, his eyes nearly bugging out, and scrabbled back to his feet. He nearly fell down again as he turned back towards his front door. Now that he had stopped screaming, the woman was getting up again. She shook her head, saw Gavin, and reached for something at her hip.

“ **Everybody _freeze_** ,” Jack shouted, feeling his throat strain with the effort. Behind him, Geoff stilled, and Gavin froze in a half-rise. Most importantly, however, the three AMO members were also frozen in place. Jack sighed, his headache that had started back at his house suddenly coming back full force. He turned back to Geoff. He was still needed; he couldn’t rest now. “ **Geoff,** **come with me** ,” he ordered. Geoff shook his head fiercely and jogged around the car. Jack felt a little guilty ordering his friends around, but it was necessary.

Jack and Geoff hurried over to the two men and took off their headphones. The men's eyes followed their movements, but the rest of their bodies were completely still. “ **You three, go back to your headquarters and don’t come back. Leave.** ” The three AMO members, with perpetual expressions of confusion, walked back to their car. Jack didn’t drop his gaze from the car or relax his shoulders until the vehicle rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Gavin was just shaking off the freeze command when Geoff ran over to him.

“Are you alright, buddy?” Geoff asked quietly, putting his arm around Gavin’s shoulders and helping the lad stand.

“I—yeah, bloody hell. What—Geoff, the AMO…”

“Yeah,” Geoff said. “Yeah, we know. Pack a bag, Gavin. We’re leaving.”

* * *

 

Michael, Lindsay, and Ray picked up Ryan on a street several blocks from his house. He had only his wallet and his phone, and he was _exhausted_. He had sprinted for two blocks and jogged the rest, and no amount of persuasion would return him home tonight, even just to pack a bag with clothes. Ray called Jack, and between the two cars, they set up a rendez-vous point at a small hotel on the outskirts of the city. Both cars were certain they were not followed, though everyone was constantly checking over their shoulder.

The other Roosterteeth mutants were called as well. Miles managed to get away by blinding his captors. Kerry nearly got caught, but his neighbors heard the ruckus and essentially forced the AMO to leave. Matt warded them off with a gun like a true Texan. All four of them were at Burnie’s house now, but his house was full and they weren’t sure what to do. For now, they all agreed to staying put and to the Achievement Hunters renting a hotel room or two since they were already headed there and were too nervous to go back into the city lest the AMO find their cars again. They would spend the night there, and tomorrow on Sunday, they would decide a course of action.

Jack shivered, staring out the passenger window as they headed for the hotel. The AMO knew where they lived and were bold enough to head straight for them. That terrified Jack—he didn’t want to know how far the AMO would go. Something had to be done.


	15. A Sky Full Of Stars

The drive was quiet overall. Ray kept bringing a hand up to touch the back of his neck, and it seemed he didn’t even notice doing so. Ryan didn’t say any more words than he had to, his posture tight and restrained as he stared out the window. Michael and Lindsay talked in soft murmurs as Lindsay guided Michael towards the hotel. In the other car, Gavin directed Geoff from the back seat as Jack massaged his temples.

The small hotel the Achievement Hunters had chosen had only one floor, but it looked clean and freshly painted – not at all dinghy like a one-star motel, so they could have chosen worse. Geoff led the group of seven inside and marched up to the front desk where a tired-looking old man with drooping eyes, drooping jowls, and drooping head stood. His nametag read “Randy.” Behind him was a wall of keys pinned to a corkboard.

“Can I help you tonight, sir?” he asked in a bored voice.

“What are your biggest rooms?” Geoff asked.

“The largest rooms we carry can room up to four people with two queen-sized beds.”

“I need two of these rooms, right next to each other if at all possible,” Geoff said, leaning on the counter to look Randy in the eye. Randy never quite made eye contact, electing instead to stare at his hands or the counter. Now, Randy moved his downward gaze to the computer.

Randy coughed once, a pitiful wheezing sound. “Well aren’t you in luck,” he said. Geoff doubted that it was a question of luck; such a hotel would surely have plenty of open rooms. “Yessir, you can have rooms 112 and 113.” Randy turned around, retrieved the four appropriate keys, and handed them over. If Randy thought anything strange of six grown men and one grown woman all wearing backpacks asking for two rooms, he didn’t show it.

Rooms 112 and 113 were at the end of one of the hotel’s wings. The rooms were divided into a Gent room and a Lad room. The rooms were mirrors of each other, with two beds covered in ugly floral quilts, a cheap watercolor landscape above each bed, and a dark wood bedside table between them with an alarm clock and a lamp. The bathrooms were tiny but clean and functional, and the room _did_ have a rather nice-looking TV. The lads threw their backpacks into their room and joined the gents almost immediately.

The seven of them didn’t speak for a while. Geoff turned the TV on, switching to the news channel, the only light source other than the lamp. There were overhead lights, but no one had turned those on. Lindsay dug some Advil out of her purse for Jack to take for his headache, but otherwise they just anxiously watched the news for a long while. Gavin tapped his foot restlessly, and Ray sat on the floor with his back pressed against the bed, his knees held to his chest by his arms. Ryan lay on one of the beds, mostly asleep already. Everyone else sat on the edge of the beds.

After probably about twenty minutes of silence except for the news channel revealing nothing of importance, Gavin spoke up, “Are we gonna _do_ something, then?”

Six pairs of eyes snapped up to look at him. Jack massaged his temple as he said, “What do you mean, Gavin. What the fuck _is_ there to do?”

“Well, I mean…” Gavin gestured wildly. “Bloody _something’s_ got to be done, hasn’t it? They attacked us in our _homes_.”

Geoff leaned forward. “You mean you want to strike back,” he said a little too eagerly. Gavin nodded, grinning.

“Hold the fuck up,” Michael said, standing up. “We don’t have anywhere _to_ strike back. We don’t know where they are, where they keep headquarters or whatever.” He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “What did you want to fucking do, then?” Gavin’s grin slipped from his face, and Michael sighed. “Right now, there’s nothing _to_ do. We might as well go to bed.”

“Agreed,” said Jack. “We can talk this through more tomorrow, maybe with Matt and Burnie as well. For now… it’s been a long day. We should call who we need to call and then rest. Sound good?” Everyone mumbled something along the lines of agreement, and the lads shuffled out of the room.

* * *

 

Ray didn’t mean to project to the Astral Plane that night. He fell asleep on the bed next to Gavin and dreamed himself there. It was not so unusual – accidentally projecting during his sleep was something he still couldn’t quite reign in. Most of the time it wasn’t a huge deal, but this time it took him several moments to figure out he was actually there and not dreaming. Faint whispers crowded dangerously around him, but he thought maybe he could use the Astral Plane to his advantage.

The Astral Plane was made up of thoughts and emotions, right? So, theoretically, he might be able to find the thoughts of other people – and, more importantly, use it to find information on the American Mutant Organization. He had no idea how to do it, but he had to try _something_.

He glanced up, towards the celestial spheres orbiting far above him. The whispers grew louder, an irresistible siren’s call. It pricked his curiosity. Chetan had said he had no idea what the celestial spheres were for, those crystal orbs housing twinkling stars, so what if they had the potential to help Ray? What if they held the key to finding information in the Astral Plane? Some small part of Ray knew that it was unlikely, that he probably shouldn’t go close to them. Chetan had said that people who had gone to them had _died_ , after all. But the whispers crowded his mind, making it hard to think straight. The gentle shushing sounds told him he was different. He could feel it.

The distance seemed very short. Too short. The Plane was all relative, all changeable, so the distance would of course be different. There seemed to be a dividing pane of crystal separating Ray from the seductive celestial spheres. It was not unlike the crystal ocean separating the Astral Plane from the Earthly Plane, the crystal ocean that suddenly seemed very, very far away. This pane of crystal was not glowing, however, allowing the light of the spheres to shine through. He reached out a trembling hand and pressed his palm against the crystal.

He immediately regretted it.

As his hand made contact, sharp currents of what felt like electricity sprung through his palm. He tried to yank away, but his hand was stuck fast to the crystal. In fact, with a strong yank, an opposing force actually pulled his hand into the crystal. The sharp, tingling pain began to travel up his arm.

“Whoops,” he said. “Fuck.”

He tried in vain to return to his body. He felt his spiritual thread grow taut, felt it tug on his gut. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Once he first attempted to wake up, he couldn’t seem to stop. The rope pulled and pulled until it felt like someone was stabbing a knife into his intestines. He gasped and arched his back. This was not going well.

* * *

 

Back on the Earthly Plane, Ray’s body began to make gurgling noises. Gavin, who had already been sleeping lightly on the uncomfortable mattress, awoke and yawned, idly wondering what roused him. When Ray coughed throatily like he was trying to spit water out and began to shake, Gavin shot up in bed. Ray’s eyes were open slightly but rolled back, so that the whites of his eyes showed. His whole body shook with each choking cough, and thick red liquid began leaking and spitting out of his mouth.

“ _Michael_ ,” Gavin screeched, his voice cracking. He jumped to his knees and flailed his hands helplessly. Michael rustled around, not quite awake. “Michael, _help_!”

Michael heard the worry and alarm in Gavin’s voice, heard the little noises Ray was making, and leapt out of bed. “Get Geoff!” he ordered loudly. He practically shoved Gavin off the bed and out the door.  “Go, go!”

* * *

 

Ray’s hand sunk further into the crystal. He pressed his free hand against it to try and get some leverage, and that one sunk in as well.

“Well, shit,” he muttered, wincing. One of the celestial spheres orbited in front of him. It was beautiful, prettier than any finely cut diamond, and filled with a star glowing yellow-white. The whispers seemed to come from this star, and it pulled his attention toward it. He stared at it, transfixed, as it revolved in place in front of him. It was so, so beautiful. His eyes, already wide with panic, drank in the light of the star. It was all he could see, and it hurt to look at it, but he couldn’t look away. It reached out to him, he swore it was reaching for him. He was almost deafened by the whispers in his ears.

The sense of his electricity that had been bothering his trapped skin shot up his arms. In increased, bringing with it fire and light. It coursed through his body, concentrated at his lower back, and began arching down his spiritual rope. It was too much, too much. He shouldn’t be able to handle the pure, unearthly energy. Ray and the rope were engulfed in burning golden-white light.

He started screaming as the rope began to fray.

* * *

 

Geoff was out of his bed in the blink of an eye. Jack and Ryan were slower to rouse, but Geoff responded to Gavin’s frantic knocking almost immediately.

“Turn him on his side!” he ordered before the lad’s door closed behind him. Michael didn’t need to be told twice. Already by Ray’s side, he tried to roll his friend over, one hand going to his bare arm and one sliding between his body and the mattress. Geoff hurried to the other side of the bed. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but he was going to rely on his healing powers to help Ray.

Ray let out one last cough, spitting out enough blood that it spilled over his lip and coated his chin. He gasped, his mouth opening wide and his eyes flying open. Michael saw Ray’s brown irises for a fraction of a second before there was a sound like a match burning out in water and his irises turned into a burning gold. All his orifices in his head lit up from within like a flashlight held deep inside his brain, his mouth wrenched open in a silent scream.

Michael didn’t have time to register what was happening. He pulled one hand away, but the one that had been on Ray’s arm wouldn’t move. Unseen electricity sprung from skin to skin, forcing the muscles in his hand to clench and stay closed. He yelped in surprise and pain.

“Let go of him!” Geoff ordered as he dropped to a crouch.

“I c-can’t,” Michael gasped. The energy surged rapidly up his arm, zapping along the length of his spine and making him arch backwards. His mouth struggled open like his jaw was being pulled forcibly down. It was a battle lost to celestial energy that had no responsibility being present. In no time, golden light, too, filled his irises and lit up his head. It became apparent here that their silent screams were not completely noiseless. Soft whispers poured out of their throats, an unearthly shushing sound releasing into the air.

Geoff cursed and grabbed for Ray, preparing to yank the lad off the mattress and hopefully dislodge Michael from him. What he didn’t expect was Ray’s hand to leap up to meet his, fingers wrapping tightly around Geoff’s wrist. Ray’s head turned towards Geoff, locking eyes.

“Help me,” he groaned. It was as if Ray was sleepwalking, his now-golden eyes unfocused as they stared in Geoff’s direction. As the electricity sprang from Ray’s hands to Geoff’s, Geoff’s hand simultaneously began to buzz with the familiar sensation of healing. Warmth spread through Geoff’s hand and arm as golden light filled his head. The warmth engulfed Ray, speeding along his spiritual rope and smoothing down the frays. It became coated in a shimmering silver membrane that prevented it from fraying again for as long as Geoff remained in contact.

Ryan reacted instinctively. At the same time that Geoff had grabbed for Ray, Ryan lurched for Michael. He grasped Michael’s arm and tried to pull him to safety, away from Ray, but he had made a terrible mistake. The pure celestial energy filled him, too. It was like Ray was a volcano erupting with pure energy, and Michael, Geoff, and Ryan were attempts to lessen the explosion, allowing different and smaller escapes. Light and fire filled them to the brim, threatening to burn them from the inside out. Jack had to put his hands out to stop Lindsay and Gavin from following suit. In the meanwhile, the three of them could only stand back in the dark room and hope.

* * *

 

Ray groaned, but since the warmth had joined the fray of battling sensations, the pain had become bearable. But his arms were still stuck, and try as he might he couldn’t yank them free. They were stuck fast, and even worse, they were sinking slowly. He was in just past his elbows now.

The celestial energy did more than just cause pain and make cool if not slightly unsettling light shows. Three presences join Ray in rapid succession, settling into his mind like an overlay. Like four images being superimposed on top of one another, four minds were linked together.

The other three Achievement Hunters were not actually there. They merely felt what Ray felt, saw what Ray saw, and remembered what Ray remembered. It was four minds crowded into one space. Dimly, they were aware of Michael and Geoff and Ryan back in the hotel room, but all of their attention was in Ray’s mind. Someone wondered what this place was; it could have been Geoff. Ray’s memory acted automatically, his recall being something he couldn’t really consciously control. His memories of what the Astral Plane looked like filled the four minds. But Michael wanted more. Or rather, he knew that there was more. He fired more neurons, travelled along this memory lane.

“No, Michael, stop,” Ray moaned out loud. Michael didn’t even know what he was doing exactly. No one did. The memories were there and he grabbed for them as if they were his owns. He felt Ray’s resistance, felt his horror, but the neurons were firing. All of Ray’s secrets about the Astral Plane were rapidly remembered for an audience of four: His emotions from the first trip in which he was severed, his meeting and subsequent meetings with Chetan, his observation of Miles during their capture and rescue, everything. Ray was humiliated and angry.

There was a branch and Ray took it. Neurons fired in Michael’s brain, shooting off another round of memories related to the rescue mission. Suddenly, Michael was remembering that night, and before he could stop himself he was remembering his attack on the guard, the guard he nearly killed with acidic hands. His murderous intent was put on display. It was Michael’s turn to be shamed.

But there were others here. Geoff remembered his emotions from watching Michael and healing the guard and added those to the mix. His initial horror, but instinctive understanding. He had never been mad at Michael – surprised, definitely, and maybe a little disappointed, but never angry, never unforgiving. Ryan didn’t have much to share in direct relation to that, but the remembrance of the recuse mission linked his current thoughts to what had happened to him. Animalistic memories surged forward, primal urges and instincts, threatening to overwhelm the others.

The four turbulent emotions of four different people were too much to handle. All of this was nearly simultaneous. On the Earhtly Plane, blood began to trickle from all four noses. It had been less than a minute since Michael tried to roll Ray over. Gavin had been furiously hunting for something. With a shout of eureka, he dug an umbrella out of Lindsay’s backpack, bounded over to the mattress, and swung it down nearly as hard as he could onto Ray’s stomach, deciding at the last instant to restrain a little.

The light shining out of the four’s faces snapped off, plunging the room into darkness save for the moonlight filtering through the translucent curtains. Ray lurched forward with an “ooph!” as the umbrella made contact with his gut. He hunched over, heaving and coughing, flecks and globs of red dotting his fist as he cleared the last bit of blood from his throat. Geoff jumped backwards, springing to his feet and crashing into the wall, leaning against and gasping for breath. He shut his eyes and slowly slid down the wall. Michael and Ryan fell away from Ray, Michael collapsing to the mattress and Ryan stumbling back to be steadied by Jack. Gavin threw the umbrella to the floor and stepped back next to Lindsay, his hands shaking. Both of them seemed unsure of what to do, unsure if it was okay to touch Michael and Ray now.

Sitting up seemed to be a struggle for Michael, but he managed it quickly and bounced to his knees. He gripped Ray by the front of his shirt and brought the still-gasping lad close to his face.

“What the fuck was that! _What the fuck was that!_ ” he shouted hoarsely, though in a way, he knew already. He knew what Ray had been doing. Ray’s head lolled back as he tried to lean away from Michael. Ray was pale and sweaty and looked ready to puke. “You were messing with things that should be fucking messed with, weren’t you! _Weren’t you!_ ”

“Michael,” said Geoff softly. He looked exhausted, like he might collapse at any minute really. Weariness weighed at his shoulders and pulled him down. Michael let go, and Ray dropped limply back to the mattress, breathless like he had just run the mile, his eyes squeezed shut as he writhed and moaned and pressed his face into the bed. Michael wiped his nose, his hand coming away with blood. Ryan and Geoff both had a nearly identical trickle of blood coming out of one nostril, but Ray’s lower face was smeared all over with red.

“What the bloody hell happened?” Gavin asked, his voice high and loud. His hands were still shaking bad, though he was sort of trying to hide it by flailing them. Jack was wide-eyed and pale, and Lindsay was trembling all over.

“I want to fucking know that too,” Lindsay said, worry making her voice sharp. “I want to know why the four of you lit up and looked like a cheap movie effect!”

“Yeah, speak the fuck up, Ray,” Michael hissed, clenching his fists so that he would grab the other lad again.

Ray with all the effort of Atlas pushed himself up from the now-blood-stained mattress so that he was on his hands and knees. He hung his head lamely. He was still panting, his breath hoarse as he sucked air down his throat and expelled it again with as much force. His chest heaved with the effort, and tears ran from his eyes. He blinked hard, tried to wipe the hot wet tears away but most just smeared more blood over his face.

“Fuck,” he gasped out, his voice quiet. “Fuck, I – fuck. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Tell us what the fuck you fucking did!” Michael shouted.

“Wait,” Ryan said suddenly. “Michael, wait. Calm down. I think… Goddamn, I’m still trying to sort out my thoughts, but I think I sort of understand?” Ryan’s head was a jumbled mess of information, but he was analyzing it okay. Mostly he just wanted to get Michael off of Ray’s back.

“Well then you bloody well better explain,” Gavin said quickly. “You explain why you lot got all glowy and started bleeding!”

Ryan took a deep steadying breath. Jack rubbed his back comfortingly, though Jack was still pale and shaking with a worried expression etched on his face. “Ray was… We were all in the Astral Plane with him. But not really. It was like… our minds shared spaces.”

Geoff nodded. He had by now pushed himself back up, leaning on the wall. “We were fucking like… We saw what Ray saw and we all thought what everyone else thought… But fucking why?” He directed his question at Ray, who took a few more deep breaths before turning around into a sitting position and putting his head in his hands.

“The spheres,” Ray muttered. “The… fucking celestial spheres.”

“The _what_?” Jack asked. Ray merely shook his head, refusing or perhaps unable to continue, but Ryan answered for him.

“Something about the celestial spheres above the Astral Plane linked our minds together,” he said. “I looked up the Astral Plane a bit after we… after the rescue mission, and all the stuff with Dr. Lehrer. The Astral Plane is a dimension made up of thoughts and emotions, right?” He looked at Ray, who nodded in confirmation. “But it’s not the only other dimension, from what I remember and understand. It was… kind of confusing when I read it, but after experiencing this, I think I kind of get it. Above the Astral Plane is one for celestial bodies. A plane that as humans we can’t hope to access. Not alive. I don’t think we are ever meant to fully understand it.” He looked at Ray again, and everyone else followed his gaze. “Ray, you were trying to access this plane?” It was said like a question, but Ryan, and in the same way Geoff and Michael, already knew the answer to this.

Ray nodded, letting his hands drop away from his face. Without his glasses, he couldn’t see anyone’s faces clearly, but he still attempted to meet their eyes. “I thought maybe – maybe it could help us somehow. I guess there were some… unintended results,” he said weakly, attempting a small smile that had no hope of reaching his eyes. No one else even tried.

“Well, don’t fucking try it again,” Geoff ordered firmly, but his voice was shaking. “You’re messing with things beyond your capabilities.” A pause. “And who the fuck is Chetan?”

* * *

 

Outside the hotel, a cheap eggshell blue rental car pulled into a parking spot.  The moon was slanted towards the west, its silver light mixing with the ugly yellow of the streetlamps. Yet this side of the hotel was relatively shaded, its small parking lot not requiring additional artificial lighting. Two male figures stepped out of the car, one short and one tall by comparison.

“Are you _sure_ this where they are?” asked the tall one. He hovered back by the car, uncertain of whether or not they were proceeding.

“Not really,” said the short one. “But it’s the only thing that has made sense. Come on, Matt, you’ve come with me this far.”

The tall one sighed, his silhouette slouching. But, he joined his shorter friend in the walk towards the hotel’s front door. “I guess so. But you owe me big time for this one, Jeremy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> If you find this chapter too strange or whatever then I want to remind you of two things: It hasn't come out of nowhere, exactly; and even the X-Men had essentially magic powers and deities and shit. 
> 
> I've thought about this whole long scene for a while, actually. And here I am, still deciding to keep it. Ah well. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, I'm just preemptively defending myself.


	16. Wash the Spears

“One final question, Ray,” said Geoff. Ray had done his best to explain who Chetan was as all seven of them sat on the two beds in the Lad room. And, with goading, mentioned everything else – what happened to Miles, the beacon, the supposed ability to project near someone… “Why the fuck did you never mention him?”

Ray stared at his feet. “I just… He never came up,” he mumbled. Ray had washed his face off, but he was still in a white tank top and long pajama bottoms. His tank top had bloodstains in droplets on the collar. “I guess, I just… I didn’t really want to talk about the Astral Plane, and even if I did, I was worried that…”

“That what?” Michael prompted when Ray started to trail off and fumble. “That you’d talk yourself into revealing everything about what you saw in the Astral Plane?” Michael sounded unnecessarily angry. Lindsay gently put a hand on his thigh. “Why didn’t you tell us about Miles, huh?”

Ray squeezed his eyes shut, his hands balling into tight fists. Gavin, surprisingly, spoke up before Ray could. “He told _me_ ,” he said defensively. “That’s not really something you just up and _share_ with everyone, Michael.”

Geoff sighed loudly, bringing the attention back to him. “Look, it doesn’t matter. We know now, and…”

Geoff cut off when they heard a knocking sound. Everyone dropped dead silent. It was nearly two in the morning, so who could be knocking? “Was that our room, or…?” Ryan asked softly.

They heard another knock and then muffled voices. “Geoff? Geoff Ramsey? Please, if you’re in there, we want to help.”

A second voice piped up. “It’s uh, Matt Bragg and Jeremy Dooley. AxialMatt and Jerem6401…?”

“Shit,” Geoff muttered, standing up and jogging over to the door. “I think I know them. They’re community members.” He put his eye up to the peephole to see two men standing in front of the Gent room. The shorter man knocked on the Gent’s door again. Geoff slid the chain on the Lad door to its locked position, then he twisted the handle hard so that it rattled in the door as he yanked it open as far as the chain would let it. The two men jumped and looked at the Lad’s door, their eyes wide and timid. The shorter man blinked as though a light shone in his face when he looked at Geoff.

“How did you know we were here?” Geoff asked in a sharp voice. These were two prominent members of the Achievement Hunter community, but could they also be AMO members? If so, could others be waiting for them?

The shorter man stepped in front of his friend and introduced himself as Jeremy. “Please, Geoff, I – I’m a mutant, too. I think I have some information that could help…”

Geoff narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, that doesn’t explain how you found us. And how do I know you’re not lying? And him,” he added, gesturing at who could only be Matt Bragg. “What about him? Why is he here?”

“Moral support,” Matt said simply. “I’m… not a mutant, but I can confirm everything Jeremy says, and please, you have to believe us. We’ve traveled a long way to get here.”

“I see things,” Jeremy said, “around people’s heads. I don’t know how to explain it clearly to other people, but when you showed up on the livestream of the Patch the other week, I saw numbers, and they led me here on this date and time. Matt helped me decode it.”

Jack approached Geoff quietly from behind and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Let them in,” he said softly. “Let’s talk to them. Besides, you said you kinda recognize them. And if they double cross us, we can take ‘em.” Matt and Jeremy heard Jack and grinned broadly, hopefully.

Geoff sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, fine, okay. But no funny business,” he snapped to the two men outside his door. “We’re seven trained mutants and you cannot fucking hope to take us all.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” said Matt happily as Geoff shut the door, undid the chain, and reopened it.

* * *

 

 “These numbers I figured were a date,” Jeremy said, circling a portion of a series of numbers he had written on the hotel’s pad of paper on the desk. Everyone else was crowded around him as he wrote on his thigh on the edge of a bed. Matt sat apart from them in the desk chair. “Matt figured this was a zip code,” he added, circling more numbers as he talked. “This was a building number, and this a room number. It took us forever.”

“And you saw these numbers,” Geoff asked flatly, “above my head. Just in the livestream? Not in any other videos?”

Jeremy shook his head. “It doesn’t work on recorded video or pictures or anything. Just livestreams and, obviously, real life. And not just numbers – usually I just see images, actually. The images are usually pretty stable, but I saw the numbers and just got a massive feeling of dread and I had to find out what it meant.”

“When we figured out the numbers,” Matt said, “Jeremy asked me to come to Austin with him.”

“But why?” asked Jack. “Why come here? Why not email us or something?”

“Do you see anything else?” Gavin asked eagerly, leaning forward. “Like, above my head?”

“And you said you had information for us?” said Ryan.

“We do,” Matt confirmed. He suddenly turned sheepish, opting to stare at his feet. “I, uh, used to support AMO. Still – still technically do, but only in email lists.” Every Achievement Hunter, at Matt’s admission of AMO membership, became immediately guarded and suspicious, drawing in tight on themselves. Matt was keenly aware of this, and though his expected this reaction, he still felt his face flush. “I don’t know much – if you’re not in a high position, they basically just use you for small donations and keeping an eye out for mutants. But I do know the location of their warehouse in Austin.”

“How did you go from supported AMO to not, then?” Geoff asked in a low, serious voice. Matt knew he was really asking, “How do we know we can trust you?”

“Before Jeremy, I had never actually met a mutant, not that I know of. I bought into their stupid propaganda. Jeremy made me realize how wrong they were…”

“I convinced him to keep his AMO membership,” Jeremy said. “They sometimes send out email alerts, and I figured we could use this to our advantage.”

“And wouldn’t you know it,” said Matt. “They sent out an email vaguely referencing a mutant in Austin that might hold a cure. Jeremy said it might be someone in Roosterteeth, so I talked to some other organization members and got the details on the warehouse. It was all I could get, but we could set AMO back if we destroy what’s inside.”

“We came because we wanted you to believe us,” Jeremy said. Then he grinned and shrugged like he was embarrassed. “Plus we… kinda wanted to meet you, too.”

The Achievement Hunters glanced at each other, wary. Ray felt a yawn building up in the back of his throat and resisted the urge. He kind of wanted to kick the two new guys out so he could get back to sleep. Geoff said, “We’ll need to talk about this. With others. But this might be good. If anything, we can make a statement.”

“Well, I’m up for it,” Michael said, cracking his knuckles.

“You never answered my question,” Gavin said mournfully. Jeremy laughed.

“Most of these things are images I don’t understand. Like… Above your head is a mute symbol, a spotlight aiming into a cloud, an empty syringe, and the Team Nice Dynamite symbol. Around Ray’s head there’s a bright star inside a glass ball or something.” Everyone stiffened at that, and Jeremy narrowed his eyes.

“Go on,” said Lindsay.

Jeremy’s eyes grew unfocused as he stared at Ray. Ray frowned and tried not to feel too weirded out. “The star acts very weird,” Jeremy concluded. Ray resisted the urge to squirm under Jeremy’s scrutiny. “It’s, like, reaching out, trying to get out of its ball.” He blinked his eyes back into focus, noticing the Achievement Hunters’ uncomfortable body language. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you said something right,” Ray muttered. “Keep going.”

“The only other thing around your head,” continued Jeremy, “is a king’s crown with a knotted silver rope wrapped around it, and it’s frayed and messy.”

Ray grew pale. “And you don’t know what anything means…”

“Generally, yeah,” Jeremy confirmed. “sometimes I get really strong feelings about a particular symbol, but yeah. Like that star, Ray, it’s dangerous but very important.” Ray craned his neck as if he too might be able to see the image of the star. Of course, there was nothing above his head.

“Do Geoff next,” Gavin demanded. Despite himself, Geoff cracked a smile and shook his head. Gavin really did act like a child sometimes. He was also the only one who truly seemed to completely enjoy being a mutant, and got excited about it even.

Jeremy studied the space around Geoff’s head. “Okay, well, there’s what looks like a peacock feather, and a video camera… and – and…” Jeremy suddenly broke off, face going white and eyes going wide as his gaze flicked from Achievement Hunter to Achievement Hunter.

“Jeremy?” Geoff ventured. Jeremy shook his head fiercely after a spell and put his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Sometimes – sometimes I see something that’s only there for a few seconds, and – well, everyone’s noses started bleeding.”

“What?” Lindsay cut in. “Was – did it happen to be an identical trickle?”

Jeremy nodded. “Y-yeah.” He suddenly locked eyes with Ray, his expression intense and serious. “Whatever it is, it is a last resort. A _last resort._ You – you _all_ , you have to be careful.”

* * *

 

 Matt Bragg wrote down all the necessary information about the warehouse, including the address and how many guards were stationed there on a daily and nightly basis. Jeremy took the pad of hotel paper and recorded everyone’s symbols that he saw, sometimes drawing a little semi-helpful doodle. Then they were unceremoniously kicked out of the hotel room. Matt revealed that they were sharing a hotel room in Austin for the next few days if they wanted to get in contact again, as well as offering up their phone numbers.

Then, Geoff called Burnie.

Geoff called Burnie’s phone three times before he picked up. Geoff wasn’t surprised when Burnie answered exhausted. Geoff said, “Burnie, we’ve got the location of an AMO warehouse. A couple of trusted community members found us and gave us the information.” He heard the soft shushing sound of fabric rubbing together as Burnie presumably got up and started walking away from his bed.

“Trusted,” Burnie mumbled, then sighed. “If you say so. What, exactly, do you _plan_ on doing with the warehouse, huh?”

“We want to destroy it,” Geoff said simply. There was a clattering of plastic against hands as Burnie nearly dropped the phone. “Going now, in the early morning before dawn, is our best shot. If we’re successful, we could really set AMO back.”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Burnie snapped, keeping his voice down. “You’ll get yourselves arrested, or captured, or _killed_ …”

“Burnie, we need to strike back,” Geoff said. “Fuck, I—we need to do _something_ , and this is something. They came to our _homes_ , Burnie. Our fucking _homes_. We need to show them that we’re not to be fucking trifled with.”

Burnie sighed heavily. Geoff imagined he was pinching the bridge of his nose, maybe rubbing his tired eyes. “I won’t lie to you. I want to be able to do something, too. But… attacking a warehouse?”

Geoff clenched his free hand into a fist and inhaled sharply. “It’s time to strike back, Burnie, and this is where it starts. I’m not just going to fucking sit back and take it like a bitch. If the AMO wants to fight, we’re going to fight.”

“I see you won’t be convinced,” Burnie said softly. “Your actions may become representative of mutants in general. I just want you to know that.”

“I know, Burnie. I know.”

“Be careful.”

* * *

 

Following Matt Bragg’s instructions, Geoff drove everyone towards the AMO warehouse. During the car ride, Ryan sat crammed in the backseat with the lads and Lindsay, Ray resting his head on the gent’s shoulder as he napped. Ryan was studying the slip of paper given to him by Jeremy, examining his symbols which included a prowling tiger, a spider on a cross-shaped web, a crow feather, and an empty syringe. Jeremy had underlined the prowling tiger and drawn helpful little arrows pointing at it. Apparently, the tiger had been around Ryan’s head for a long time and was of high importance.

Jack and Geoff chatted in low voices in the front seat. Lindsay looked exhausted as well, but was squashed against the other window. Michael and Gavin, like Ray, had fallen asleep, leaning on each other. All three of them needed to rest; the plan mostly involved them. Ray would go in ahead of them and scope things out. Though he had never tried it, Ray had nervously mentioned the potentiality of turning invisible while projecting. After he got a layout of the warehouse and the positions of anyone inside, he would relay the information to Michael and Gavin and then help when needed. Team Nice Dynamite would then live up to their team name and do their best to destroy everything inside the warehouse.

Ryan carefully folded the slip of paper and tucked it into his pocket. Ahead of them, the warehouse loomed darkly in the gloom, shadows draining all color from it. It was the dark before the dawn, and the limited lamps in the warehouse area threw dense shadows everywhere. Other warehouses were lined up next to their goal, about fifty yards between them. A large white “6” was hung over the massive rising door.

Geoff parked the car about a block away on the street. Tall fences lined the sidewalk and separated the warehouses from the street. In response to the stopping car and silencing of the engine, the lads roused drowsily from their naps. As they realized that they were at the warehouse, however, they quickly became animated. Geoff sighed as the car light, which had turned on with the parking of the car, dimmed back into darkness. He shifted in his seat to look at the five people crammed into the back. He seemed hesitant, as if second guessing his decision to raid the warehouse.

“You ready?” he asked. The lads grinned, glancing at each other, their white teeth flashing in the gloom. Michael pounded one fist into the palm of his other hand, his expression the most wicked and eager of all three lads.

“Let’s fuck shit up,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bleh, sorry this took so long to get out. I had a tough time trying to make it not entirely a laundry list.


	17. Scream

Michael, Lindsay, and Gavin unfolded from the cramped space of the car. Something metallic clanked and fell out of the car, and Lindsay picked it up and put whatever it was in her sweatshirt pocket. Ryan opened his door and swung his legs out to stretch but remained seated, and Ray settled back into the now-roomy back seat. Lindsay was going to keep eyes on the outside, sticking invisibly to the shadows. Her powers were not very offensive, and it was far too likely that anyone inside the warehouse would have the ability to see her if she tried to hide, so she remained purely on the defensive this time. Michael and Gavin paced nervously, waiting. Geoff would stay with the car with Jack, though they were both prepared to jump out and sprint down the block to help should they be required.

No one dared say a word as Ray prepared to project. It took a few minutes—much longer than normal, but nerves were preventing him from projecting easily. Everyone was jittery with anxiety. Even Michael, who had been so ready to get going, was feeling nervous. It was one thing breaking into a building to rescue their friends. It was a whole new level sneaking into a warehouse, probably with guards inside with guns to kill, in order to commit arson on rows upon rows of stock.

Ray’s astral projection appeared just outside of the car on the sidewalk, making Ryan jump. He appeared for a moment, made eye contact with Ryan, then closed his eyes in concentration. He didn’t much want to be invisible. The last time he was invisible, he was severed from his body with no end in sight. But he couldn’t afford to hesitate now—they needed him to do this. He drew upon those feelings of intangibility, feeling like he was about to disappear. He forced this feeling down, pushing it out to the ends of his fingers and toes. He felt himself become less corporeal, and when he opened his eyes again and lifted a hand, he could once more see through it.

“Am I gone?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Geoff, Lindsay, Michael, and Gavin.

“No,” said Ryan and Jack at the same time. They glanced at each other as everyone else frowned at them.

Geoff flapped his hands. “It doesn’t matter. _We_ can’t see you, so any guys inside probably won’t see you either. Ray, if anyone sees you, come back and we’ll abort the mission. Otherwise, stick to the plan.”

Ray nodded before remembering that Geoff couldn’t see him anymore. “Right,” he said. “I’m going.”

Ray hopped about a foot off the ground and glided forward. There was a tall chain link fence encasing the perimeter of the warehouses, but Ray simply melded through it like it wasn’t there. He quickly encircled the building, scoping out the exterior. The front of the warehouse was dominated by a folding door large enough for a couple trucks to drive through, and a small metal door was on either side of it. The right side of the warehouse had a folding door big enough for a forklift with a ramp leading up to it, and the other side had another small metal door. The back had nothing. The only windows were just under the roof. When Ray hovered up to examine them, a large crow landed on the lip of the roof and fixed him with a beady eye.

“Say hi to Ryan for me,” he said with a wave. Then, checking that he was still invisible, he melded through the wall.

The inside of the warehouse was dimly lit and absolutely filled with long metal shelves that reached probably fifty feet in the air. They were placed at regular distances on either side of a center path big enough for a semi that led up to the large folding door. The distances between shelves were about two or three meters, so that two people could stand shoulder to shoulder comfortably. The lights were little better than emergency lights, white LEDs set halfway up the walls on the sides and the back. It lighted the warehouse adequately enough, but there were shadows everywhere. There were large lights hanging from the ceiling, but they were unlit.

At the back wall of the warehouse was a raised walkway with a railing with a staircase at either end. One man in black and body armor stood at the ready, overlooking the warehouse. Two other men paroled the warehouse shelves. All three carried some sort of gun, which was more than enough to kill or injure Michael and Gavin. They wore helmets too, but they weren’t heat vision or anything. It was highly unlikely that AMO expected an organized attack on their warehouse, after all. Ray memorized their habitual pathways. None of them noticed Ray, so he figured he was safe.

Ray flew invisibly around the warehouse, only pausing long enough to identify some of the stock. Some of it seemed to be rejected prototypes of the identification devices, and many of these were out of boxes—large, clunky instruments, created before they had obtained Matt’s DNA. The boxes themselves seemed to be mostly parts. AMO wouldn’t have had time yet to mass produce the device, so there were wires and chips and easily breakable bits of metal that Ray couldn’t hope to identify. Other shelves held empty vials, syringes, and other glassware.

It would have been faster for Ray to just wake up back at the car, but he was still needed. He returned to his friends as a projection and relayed his information, as well as an idea or two.

“I can open the door from the inside no problem,” he said. “The guy on the walkway won’t see you immediately, but I can distract them. They can’t hurt me as a projection.”

“Good idea,” Geoff said. He stood just outside the driver’s side of the car and spoke over the roof. “Michael and Gavin, you can do your thing to the shelves, but don’t rely entirely on Ray to keep the guards off you. The _most_ _important_ _fucking thing_ is not getting shot. I _would_ come with you, but that would just make your job harder.”

“Noted, boss,” Michael said with a sharp nod. He took a deep breath and exhaled through puffed cheeks. He lightly fistbumped Gavin before all three of the lads jogged away from the car. As they left, a giant crow landed heavily on the roof of the car with a metallic clank of talons, startling everyone present. It looked at Ryan, cawed, and fluffed out its feathers and wings with a shake. Ryan considered it for a few moments as Jack, Geoff, and Lindsay looked on.

“I have an idea,” he said in a low voice. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, he began to murmur to the crow. Geoff caught Jack’s eye and they both helplessly shrugged.

* * *

 Michael and Gavin waited anxiously outside the door in the left side of the warehouse. Ray had gone through the wall ahead of them, and had to time it to the guards’ patrol. A few birds wheeled in the sky ominously. Michael resisted the urge to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans—he didn’t want to burn a hole into them. Gavin tapped his foot impatiently, which certainly didn’t help Michael’s nerves either. Michael wanted to shout at him to stop fucking tapping his fucking foot, but that wouldn’t help anyone, now would it.

Finally, the door popped open, and Gavin jammed a rock into the bottom so that it stayed open a crack. They saw Ray’s face briefly, as he had to be visible to touch things as a projection. He put his finger to his lips before disappearing again. Team Nice Dynamite opened the door just far enough to slip inside, and as Gavin surveyed the area, Michael shut the door against the stone gently so that it made no noise. They would likely need a quick escape, and the dim light from outside was not immediately noticeable.

They got to work immediately. Well. _Michael_ got to work immediately, and Gavin kept a lookout, listening for footsteps and watching for movement as he pressed up against a shelf. The shelves were constructed using tall metal poles that formed a solid frame, thicker ones on the outside with a few more stabilizing dividers spaced evenly apart. Wide horizontal planks of metal formed the base for the shelves themselves. The entire contraption was bolted to the floor as well. These shelves would not easily wobble. Michael crouched down low to the shelf at the front of the warehouse and gripped the outside pole part of the frame nearest the left wall. The sizzle of acid was almost inaudible, and wouldn’t be heard by anyone standing farther away than Gavin was from Michael.

They hugged the outer wall and continued in a direction opposite one of the guard’s patrol, which brought them closer and closer to the platform at the end of the warehouse. Both of their hearts were beating hard and fast, and Michael worked as quickly as he could. He urged the acid in his system to go faster, go harder, go… more acidic. When they were about halfway down the row, Gavin grabbed Michael’s shirt and they shuffled into the aisle. The guard had just turned the corner at the front end.

A few precious seconds later, a loud, tinkling crash was heard on the front right side of the warehouse. This was according to plan. From the sound of it, Ray had tipped over a box of glass vials. The two floor guards—most importantly, the one patrolling the left side of the warehouse—shouted out for the perpetrator and immediately ran towards the source of the sound. The guard on the walkway stayed on there on the platform, but walked to the right side of it to try and get a better view of what was going on.

Michael and Gavin used this distraction to finish up the outer part of the left warehouse shelves and then run underneath the walkway, hiding in the deep shadows. They still needed to do the inside part and the entire right side. On the other side of the warehouse, a visible Ray baited the two guards, flitting in and out of the shelves just fast enough to be glimpsed but not fully seen. The guards yelled at him to stop, and he steadily brought them close to the right wall and near the back. The sound of a gun going off startled Michael and Gavin, but they were safely hidden in the shadow of the walkway. The guards had shot at Ray, not them.

Ray yelped as loud as he could. That was the signal that meant Ray could no longer keep up the distraction. He had been cornered, and dove behind a shelf and disappeared. He was probably awake back at the car by now, which meant Team Nice Dynamite was completely alone.

Michael and Gavin snuck back to the left shelves and hid in one row. The guards were shouting at each other. Where did he go? He just disappeared! Well go on! Sweep the warehouse! He can’t have just vanished! The fucker is probably still around somewhere.

Gavin risked a peek around the shelf. The walkway guard was back in the middle of the platform, gesturing wildly as he shouted orders to the floor guards. One guard started marching down the middle, and the other hugged the right wall.

“We’re doomed,” Gavin whispered as quietly as he could to Michael. “They’re coming down the middle and the right side. We can’t get over there.”

Michael puffed out his cheeks. “I guess we just le—”

That was when the birds came.

The windows of the warehouse shattered and exploded inward, the sound soon replaced by the cawing and shrieking of large black crows. Michael and Gavin wanted to cry out like the guards did, but quickly understood it was aid from Ryan. The birds wheeled wildly and dove at the guards, teasing them and darting out of the way of waving arms. The middle floor guard ran off into the shelves to avoid the birds.

Michael felt the acid boil in his body. He could feel it churn inside him. He took a deep, steadying breath and, with the guards distracted by the birds, scurried with Gavin down the middle pathway. Acid dripped thickly from Michael’s palms, and he smeared it haphazardly on the frames of the left side shelves. The middle floor guard saw them when they reached the large folding door at the front and called out. There! Near the front!

Their location was known, but at least there weren’t bullets. Yet. For them. Michael silently cursed Gavin. This was stupid, stupid, stupid! They were about to get shot! They ran off to the right to the right wall. If they got out of sight, maybe there would be enough confusion to escape… but the other floor guard was still hugging the right wall. The guard waved off a bird, laid eyes on Michael and Gavin, and after a pause, raised his gun.

Several crows bombarded him before the lads could do anything. The guard let out a horrified scream as they pecked and scratched at him, and the guard seemingly lost all sense of direction. He writhed, crashing first into the wall, then stumbling into the shelves. He lifted the muzzle of his gun and pulled the trigger in a panic, sending a spray of bullets into the air around him. A few birds dropped like stones, and a few more cawed angrily and flitted away for a brief moment.

Michael and Gavin did not waste this opportunity. As they hurried down the right side shelves, Michael smearing more acid on the frames, more guns went off. Gavin craned his neck down the rows of shelves as they moved, his heart dropping as he saw the black bodies of crows motionless on the floor.

The birds allowed them to get the inner part of the right side shelves as well, but as they reached the end, bullets pinged off of the wall and large folding door in front of them. Gavin and Michael shrieked and spun around. The birds had retreated, flying high above them, some of them hopping around with injured wings and cawing pitifully. The walkway guard had fired warning shots at them. The two floor guards, back in the middle pathway, fought off the last birds, and one of them cruelly kicked one. The other one shot it, sending a spray of feathers and blood across the floor. All three guards were bleeding profusely.

“Don’t move!” hollered the walkway guard. “Whatever you’re doing, stop or else!”

Michael heard Gavin quietly suck in a huge breath and mentally prepared himself. When Gavin’s hand darted up to tap Michael’s arm, Michael was ready. Gavin already started screaming when Michael threw himself back against the wall, his hands covering his ears.

It was the loudest thing Michael had heard in his life, and he shoved himself against the wall, his hands pressing hard against his ears, to get away from the intense sound waves that erupted from Gavin’s mouth. The sound waves were visible, warping the air as the entire warehouse—the floor, the walls, the ceiling, the shelves—rattled worse than an earthquake. Even Gavin’s hands flew to clamp over his ears, but he still he shrieked a banshee shriek. If the windows hadn’t been broken before, they surely would have shattered now. There might have been bullets fired, but Michael didn’t hear them, see them, or feel them.

The guards were thrown back, and the birds wheeled crazily against the sound, many of them falling entirely. But most important, the shelves tipped back with the force, and with a groan, the frames of several of the shelves closest to Gavin snapped. The shelves fell, spilling all of their contents onto the floor and pushing the rest of the shelves down in a glorious domino effect. It was weirdly silent with the loud noise, but Michael could imagine the racket as glass shattered, metal pieces snapped off, and contraptions crumpled. It would not have worked without the weakened frames—the shelves wouldn’t have fallen to Gavin’s shriek without the poles being eaten partway through by the acid.

Gavin’s duty finished, he sprinted as fast as he could to the left, grabbing Michael’s arm and dragging the stumbling lad several yards before Michael found his feet again. The two dashed for the exit propped open by the rock and pushed through the door before the first floor guard could even get to his feet. But it was short lived, for the walkway guard had recovered almost immediately and raced after them, and was a few yards behind them when they exited the building.

Michael and Gavin did not look behind them, but ran as fast as they could around the warehouse and down the block to the waiting car. As such, they did not see the walkway guard shove his way through the door, stumble out into the dawn shadows, and catch sight of the two lads. He raised his gun. Before he could fire, an enormous crow slammed into his weapon, pushing the muzzle aside. Soon after that, dozens of black birds swarmed him, and he screamed underneath the mass of feathery bodies.

 Everyone was already seated inside Geoff’s car, Lindsay and Ryan holding the doors open, and the lads went to opposite sides of the car and threw themselves inside. Lindsay had returned to the car once the birds started attacking the building. Michael and Gavin found themselves awkwardly squashed against the floor, the backseat occupants, and each other. Gavin was nearly upside down when the doors were slammed shut and Geoff jammed his foot onto the gas pedal. Geoff did the fastest U-turn he had ever done on the empty street at dawn. Geoff put three more blocks between them and the warehouse before slowing down to act more natural. The guards couldn’t hope to catch up to them now.

At a red light, Geoff glanced at the back seat. Gavin was breathing heavily and looked ready to puke, but Michael had passed out, his body on the floor and his head in Lindsay’s lap as his wife stroked his hair. Lindsay, strangely, looked the calmest out of everyone in the car, and even flashed a smile at Geoff when his gaze passed over her. He then caught Gavin’s eye and beamed.

“Good job,” Geoff said. “You did it.”

Gavin grinned. Ryan seemed to be the only car occupant that wasn’t happy about this and scowled as he stared out the window. He had asked a huge favor of the crows. Some of them had died, he knew, and many of them were likely injured or at least severely rattled by Gavin’s scream. Mostly, he just felt guilty, though apparently, as Gavin rambled on about exactly what happened from his uncomfortable position on the floor, it was necessary. It stopped his friends from getting shot, and gave them the time they needed. It was necessary.

Ryan sighed and closed his eyes. Ray reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. Ryan hoped he did the right thing. He hoped they all did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh, I had avoided writing this part of the chapter for a fair amount of time, I admit. Writing action scenes are something you just gotta get used to I guess.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!


	18. Hold On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 4 am.

The carload of people returned to the hotel to pass out, sprawled across their beds without care for sheets or bedclothes. A few hours later, they checked out and headed to Burnie’s house. Gavin and Michael had been partially deafened by the former’s banshee shriek, but it wasn’t permanent. However, they hadn’t fully recovered yet, and had the tendency throughout the morning to ask, in loud voices, for whoever was talking to them to repeat what they were saying.

When they arrived at Burnie’s house, a single crow was perched at the edge of the roof over the front door. Its presence seemed to make Ryan anxious, but as they got out of their cars, it cawed and flew away. Inside, Burnie’s house had several blankets and extra sheets lying around in a mess where Matt, Miles and Kerry had slept. Caleb and Joel, though they hadn’t stayed the night, joined the group of mutants in the morning and were there when the Achievement Hunters showed up. Surprisingly, Blaine, Patrick, and Kyle were all there as well. Burnie had been watching the Sunday morning news since he had woken up, and pointed the new arrivals towards an… _interesting_ news story.

The Achievement Hunters were all exhausted, but they crowded around the television nonetheless. The news station was reporting on a bad and unusual case of vandalism on a warehouse in Austin. Nearly all of the stock inside was destroyed, and all of the shelves were tipped over like dominos, despite being bolted to the ground. Two guards were found inside with damaged eardrums, corneas, and skin. They were bleeding profusely from several scratches, but were overall okay and would likely heal up fine. One guard was found outside, dead with his eyes plucked out. The news station didn’t show that, but the reporter assured the viewers that it was gruesome, and apparently caused by a freak bird attack, judging from the several bird corpses around. The surviving guards had not yet recovered enough to relay their version of the events that transpired last night. For right now, they had no idea what caused it, perhaps some combinations of explosives?

However, most interestingly, a message had been scrawled across the front of the warehouse in black spray paint. It read, simply, “ _They want to hurt us – X_ ”. As the camera panned over this blunt message, the reporter revealed that the warehouse was for an organization called AMO. The Achievement Hunters all turned to look at Lindsay with expressions ranging from “what the fuck” to “what the hell.”

Lindsay shrugged and grinned nervously, her face turning a delicate shade of pink. “I found some spray paint in Geoff’s car. I figured I’d use it.” Geoff looked annoyed, but Michael leaned over and lightly kissed her on the cheek.

Geoff sighed loudly. “It’s too fucking early to tell if that was a good idea or not, but if it wasn’t, you better believe…”

“Yeah, whatever,” Burnie cut in. “It happened and there’s no going back. We need to talk about this and what we’re going to do next.”

Geoff looked at Caleb and said, “Yo, you should probably put that video up today rather than wait until tomorrow.”

“You’re the boss,” Caleb conceded easily.

“It’s likely not safe enough for us to return home, yet,” Ryan pointed out. “But… I don’t know what we can do about that…”

Matt’s mouth twitched in a half-attempted smirk as he spoke up. “Actually, that’s what Burnie and I have mostly been talking about since your… questionable expedition to this warehouse.” He gestured to Blaine, who waved with a broad smile. “After Friday’s meeting, I pulled Blaine, Kyle, and Patrick aside and told them about their mutations. Blaine is a technopath, and he says he’s always sort of knew.”

“Yeah, I never realized it was something weird,” Blaine added with a laugh.

“Anyway,” continued Matt. “He’s been practicing all morning, and I think, if we get him to an AMO computer, he can delete the information they have dug up on you guys. Maybe even block them from finding it again. At least, from their internet connection.”

“That’s great!” exclaimed Gavin, bouncing up to his feet. “We can go home!”

“Soon,” Burnie assured him. “And you will still need to be careful, but if we’re successful, I don’t think they’ll be so direct or daring.” He turned to Geoff. “I think we will need your AMO friend’s help again.”

* * *

 

Matt Bragg was called up, and he was clearly very enthusiastic about being needed again. He and Jeremy were invited over to Burnie’s house, where he explained in great detail where the nearest AMO facility was and what it would take to get inside. Basically, it was two rented floors of an office building somewhere in Austin next to a parking garage. The front of the first floor included, of course, a front desk with a computer as well as a security metal detector. The offices were mostly administrative stuff, but near the back on the second floor were a couple of holding cells—basically, converted wall offices—where mutants could be kept until they could be picked up and taken somewhere else. Matt didn’t know where they were taken, but that was not relevant anyway.

Matt Bragg would be a necessary part of this mission. They needed an AMO member to even get permission to enter the building. Then, of course, Blaine would have to act like a nonmutant teammate, not officially an AMO but a sympathizer. To make things seem more legit, however, they would need two mutants to be their “hostages,” probably someone who could get out on their own.

Everyone immediately looked at Michael and Ray. Ray shrugged and agreed to do it with a yawn, but Michael shook his head and flat out refused. “I’m spent,” he complained. “Besides, with Ray, he could get both people out.”

“So then we need someone that could be reasonably subdued,” Matt Bragg said. “Geoff or Jack?” he suggested shyly.

“They’d never expect you to get me,” Jack said. “Not with my persuasion. Geoff seems like… too good of a catch?”

“I’ll do it,” said Gavin suddenly.

A beat. Then Geoff said, “Are you sure? Lindsay or someone else could just as easily…”

“Yeah,” Gavin replied simply, with an almost confused expression. “Why not? X-Ray and Vav, fake-kidnapped for the good of the cause,” he said, grinning at Ray and exchanging a fistbump.

Geoff sighed, glancing at Burnie and Matt Hullum. “If you’re sure…”

Then, after a quick lunch helpfully provided by Burnie’s kitchen, they were ready to go. Geoff tossed Jack his keys, and he and the other four all piled into Geoff’s car. Matt Bragg sat in the front seat next to Jack, and Gavin, Ray, and Blaine piled into the backseat with Ray in the middle.

“From one mission to the next, huh?” Ray said.

Gavin let out a short laugh. “Hopefully the last for a bloody while. This one should be easy on us, though.”

Ray agreed. The car ride passed peacefully, going over the plan over and over again, despite it being fairly simple, Blaine expressing his excitement and nerves several times. Jack reminded him that if he messed up, no one would blame him, since he did not have that much time to practice with his abilities. Blaine, in turn, assured him that it would be fine, because technopathy came easily to him, having been drawn to technology his whole life.

The first problem was when they got there and parked on the first floor of the parking garage. Jack would stay there with the car running as the other four went in. However, in order for Gavin to be “captured,” they needed to bind his hands and, yes, gag him. When Ray held up the makeshift gag, Gavin leaned away from it, his eyes going wide and his breath going shallow. His heart rammed against his ribcage, though he didn’t know why.

“Can’t we do it without the gag?” he asked nervously. The others hadn’t quite noticed the extent to which Gavin was averse to it.

Jack turned in his seat to put a hand on Gavin’s knee. “Gavin, you know it’s necessary. Ray will be gagged too so he can’t shout out. Plus, there’s a good chance they know exactly what you can do. It shouldn’t be tight enough that you can’t work your way out of it.”

Gavin’s eyes never left the gag. Ray withdrew a little when Gavin started pressing against the inside of his car door. Gavin was silently chastising himself the entire time. Why was he getting so scared? He was being a wimp. “I—I know,” he said.

“Listen, man,” Ray said, “if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. You can just stay here. It’s okay.”

Gavin furiously shook his head. He was just being weak. He just needed to power through it. “No, no, I can do it.” He took a deep breath and forced his tense muscles to relax. He scooted forward, and after a beat, Ray tied the gag around him. He didn’t tie it too tight, but just tight enough to appear convincing. Gavin could tell that if he worked his jaw carefully, he could slide it off his head. Either way, Gavin was suddenly focusing very hard on his breathing. He withdrew partially inside his head, carefully making sure that he didn’t worry his friends. He allowed Ray to tie his hands as well. He registered enough of what was happening around him to stick to the plan. Blaine tied Ray’s hands, and when the coast was clear, all four of them got out of the car.

They walked quickly across the dim parking garage towards a door that would lead to the alleyway. Matt and Blaine positioned themselves so that Gavin’s and Ray’s tied hands were not immediately visible, and Gavin kept his head bowed. In the alleyway was a back entrance to the office building, a heavy metal door with flaking dark brown paint. A man was sitting on a metal folding chair next to the door there, but he shooed Matt and his companions when Matt flashed him a membership card from his wallet. Ray struggled a bit against Blaine for good measure, but Gavin kept his head bowed and barely reacted to anything. Then, the four were inside the office building and climbing up stairs.

The stairs opened into a short hallway, which in turn lead to the office doors, made entirely of glass and partially frosted so that “AMO” was spelled out. Beyond this was a square reception area with the desk at the opposite end. The desk sat in front of a conference room, and off to the left they could see the edges of some cubicles and the door to a break room. Unseen but not unknown to them, there was a second staircase on the other side of the cubicles.

The doors swung open for them automatically. The receptionist took one look at them and immediately picked up the phone. The receptionist was a young man who couldn’t be more than twenty, with a round face and a smart haircut. From the nervous way he handled the phone, he was clearly an intern working the front desk for a few hours. He was so excited that he stood up as he called someone in the office. After speaking a few short words, he seemed to remember a part of his script, and he fumblingly asked for a membership card and a debriefing.

Matt smiled casually, keeping one hand firmly on Gavin’s bound ones, and flipped out his wallet again. “My friend helped me catch these two mutants. This was the nearest facility—you can take ‘em, right?”

The receptionist nodded eagerly just as two bulky men came out from the direction of the staircase behind the cubicles. They looked rather scary to Matt, but they smiled warmly at him, and one of them thumped him warmly on the shoulder before roughly taking Gavin from him. Gavin reacted very little, other than stumbling a little.

“Good job man!” said the man. He had a black buzz cut and lips as red as a cherry. “We haven’t had mutants at this building for a few months, I think.”

The other man laughed, twisted Ray’s arm as almost an afterthought when he struggled against his grip. His head was completely shaved, and he had the tattoo of a Christian cross on the back of his neck. “Helps that the other nearest holding cells were destroyed a few days ago.” He looked back at Matt and Blaine. “Do you know what these guys can do?”

Matt opened his mouth, but Cherry Lips interrupted him. “Nah, dude, wait, we can find out ourselves now.” The bald man made an “oh, right” face. Cherry Lips addressed the receptionist as they started taking Gavin and Ray away. “Dr. Harlow just stepped out for a bit, but she should be close by. Call her cell phone.”

At the mention of the name, Gavin’s breath caught and his eyes went wide. For the first time since being gagged, he seemed to notice his surroundings. He caught Ray’s questioning glance and shook his head once. He tried to ignore his heart pounding in his throat. They’d be out before she arrived. They had to be. They headed for the stairs with little resistance.

The receptionist picked up the phone and began to dial. He glanced up at Matt before hitting the call button and said, “I’m sure Dr. Harlow would love to see you. I think you could get a reward from her, too.”

Matt resisted the urge to nervously glance at Blaine, and shook his head. “Nah, it’s cool, we don’t need a reward. This is reward enough,” he added with a laugh. “But… I do need the bathroom. You don’t mind if…”

The receptionist smiled and gestured back towards the cubicles. “There’s a bathroom over there. You’ll see it pretty easily.”

Matt nodded his thanks, and then he and Blaine entered further into the office just as Gavin and Ray were led up the staircase. There weren’t many people in the cubicles—there certainly seemed to be several more computers than workers. On the far wall was a single room bathroom. As they skirted the wall, Matt and Blaine carefully scanned the room for observers and then ducked into an empty cubicle.

“Do you know how long this will take?” Matt whispered as Blaine put his hand on the desktop computer’s case. It whirred quietly to life under his fingertips.

Blaine shrugged. “A few minutes, maybe? Hopefully not more than ten. It’s hard to judge before I’ve started.” Then he closed his eyes and concentrated. The monitor lit up, and Matt watched as windows upon windows flicked past almost imperceptibly. He couldn’t follow it at all, but managed to comprehend a few glimpses here and there. He saw lines and lines of code, saw files permanently deleted, saw an email opening up and signing in. Email after email was sent on its way. Matt had to tear his gaze away to glance outside the cubicle and make sure no one was coming.

Matt poked his head up and immediately ducked back down, his heart beating fast all of a sudden. A woman was walking quickly from the direction of the receptionist, her eyes wide and wild with excitement as she marched straight for the staircase. Matt knew her to be Lily Harlow. Her blond ponytail had several stray hairs loose and floating around her narrow face. Her manicured hands clutched a silver briefcase, and she was gripping it so tightly that it did not swing as she walked.

“Shit,” Matt said to himself under his breath. Shouldn’t Ray and Gavin have gotten out by now? He hoped they would hurry the fuck up…

* * *

 

The two bodyguards roughly shoved Ray and Gavin up the stairs. Gavin tripped halfway up, but Cherry Lips held him up by his tied arms and forced him back to his feet. Gavin’s eyes were watering when Ray glanced at him. The top of the stairs revealed a wide open area devoid of cubicles, unlike the floor below. Offices lined the walls with bars in their windows and reinforced iron doors. The middle of the open area had a mini fridge, two desks, and several folding chairs. Two women in lab coats sat behind these desks with laptops, one landline phone, empty vials, and syringes. On the floor beside them, there was a large clunky machine that looked sort of like a copy printer. The women looked up as Ray and Gavin entered.

“Ah,” said one of the women, a smile growing on her face. “I recognize those mutants. Good fortune smiles upon us today. Make sure the guys who brought them in get adequate compensation. That one,” she said, pointing at Gavin, “has sonic abilities, and that one, according to Dr. Lehrer’s files, can astral project.” At the mention of Dr. Lehrer, a lump grew in Ray’s throat. He exchanged a look with Gavin, and for once this entire mission, their expressions were nearly identical. For the first time, Ray was beginning to doubt his involvement on this mission. “We can still test out our new identification machine, though, and collect samples. Sit them down. We need to draw blood, and administer some… individualized precautions.” Yup. Definitely doubting this mission.

The two bodyguards guided Ray and Gavin to separate chairs, sitting them down and entwining a strong hand in their hair. When the two women brought out clean syringes, the guards gripped one of their arms and positioned them so that the needle could be inserted into a vein. Ray could hear Gavin making small whimpering noises, and he too let out a short whine when he felt the prick of the needle. Ray wanted to struggle, to get out of there now. Maybe project and do _something_. He felt like his bodyguard would break his neck before he allowed any of that to happen. Ray was getting _scared_. He tried to stay calm. Whatever happened, they would put them in an office, and then Ray would project and free Gavin and fight their way out…

“Good,” said the first woman finally, holding up filled syringes. “We’ll send these to be studied at a proper lab.” The bodyguards hoisted Ray and Gavin up off the chairs. The woman clicked her tongue and gestured at Gavin. “He’s probably good to go. If he’s gagged he can’t do much, and we don’t have anything better than that right now.” Gavin’s bodyguard with the cherry lips nodded and pushed Gavin ahead of him, forcing him into one of the offices by keeping a hand on his head and gripping Gavin’s hair tightly. The lad squealed ineffectually around his gag, and then he was gone behind the door. The door was then locked.

The woman, however, approached Ray with a new syringe, this one full of liquid. Ray recoiled from her, hunching up his shoulders and leaning back as best he could in the grip of the bodyguard. “We can’t have you falling asleep, now, before we can properly deal with you,” she said, grasping Ray’s arm again. Ray preemptively squeezed his eyes shut as she stuck the needle in. He didn’t want this. His heart thumped painfully in his throat. What was she doing? What was she injecting? She pulled the needle out and patted his back soothingly before the bodyguard, too, led him to a room and locked him in.

Now was the time to act, now that he was alone in the room as according to the plan. But his breathing had turned shallow, and his heartbeat light and fluttering. His entire body began to tremble uncontrollably, and his head started to hurt. He shook his head and tried desperately to stick to the plan. He deliberately slowed his breathing and, as distracting as his quick heartbeat was, attempted to project. But, whenever he felt himself dropping off, his mind separating from his body, his leg or arm would jerk suddenly, and he would snap back to his body.

Caffeine. He had been injected with caffeine. Though the symptoms were extreme, he recognized them from when he once grossly drank too much coffee. He gritted his teeth. That bitch wasn’t going to stop him from getting out of here. He worked his mouth around the gag and wriggled his hands out of his ties. He needed to get out. He needed to get Gavin out. He needed to project.

With free, clenched fists and a furious expression, Ray tried to force his mind out of his body. He didn’t even try to relax this time, just focused on projecting. He knew he could do it. He could tell his body wanted him to project as well. His mind felt… loose, almost, and his vision would fade and return as his consciousness would try to escape and inevitably come back due to the caffeine keeping him awake. The light of the office became painful. His breathing was hard and loud, and he _pushed_ his mind out. He pushed, and pushed, and pushed.

His brain was splitting in half, like an invisible ax decided to cleave it right down the middle. The light was too bright, too bright. It burned his retinas like an overexposed camera lens. His hands flew up to his head, his palms pressing against his temples. He needed out. It was his job. It was a necessity. The invisible ax rose up and struck down. A scream built up in the back of Ray’s throat, and he let it out with a guttural roar. Unbeknownst to Ray, his image shifted, like a second, less opaque Ray was dragged off center and then back again. He almost had it, he knew it. He could feel it. His nails dug into his scalp. He wanted to rip his skull apart like an apple, but he almost had it.

He drew in another breath, his heartbeat wild, his chest hurting, his entire body jittery. The door opened just as he let out a second shout, and arched back. He saw a flash of a crystal sphere, its star burning into his mind’s eye, and suddenly his vision was a jumbled mess of the office. He saw two different angles of it, like an image on Photoshop with two layers on low opacity. Each viewpoint had two of everything, but only one visible Ray. He felt cross eyed. He vaguely saw a shape move towards him and the same shape move across his vision. He defensively raised the same arm twice, simultaneously. Before he could make sense of anything, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, and his mind slammed back together.

Ray found himself on his back under the weight of a foot in a high heel shoe. The foot ground painfully into his shoulder, and it hurt to look up at the woman standing above him with his light-sensitive eyes. He was still processing the jumbled view of the office and the crystal sphere he saw. As such, he barely comprehended the fearful and angry expression on Lily Harlow’s face.

Ray was still jittery, but now he had the added bonus of being _exhausted_. Instead of feeling sleepy, due to the caffeine, he just felt like moving was unnecessary. He hung there, his head in agony, his muscles exhausted, his heart fluttery. He felt himself drifting, floating. Lily Harlow stepped back, and the bodyguard with the cherry lips grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his knees. He barely felt his roots screaming in protest as he was pulled up and then back, so that his throat was uncomfortably exposed to the people in front of him.

“He is far more powerful than we could ever have anticipated,” Dr. Harlow said, her voice pinched and trembling. “It seems that we will have to deal with him immediately.”

Ray swallowed hard and glanced at the wall, on the other side of which he knew Gavin was situated. What was Gavin _doing_?


	19. Hollow Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um. Slight warning, I guess? I dunno, I think you guys can figure out what to expect a little bit.

The combined effort of Cherry Lips and Cross Tattoo got Ray tied to a wooden office chair in his wall office cell. The rope dug into his arms and legs, and his head was still pounding from his attempted astral projection. As the bodyguards worked, Lily Harlow paced around him.

“This is quite the predicament you’ve put us in,” said Dr. Harlow. Ray merely stared at her, too exhausted to banter, too worried about Gavin to care. He still felt like he had a loose grip on his consciousness, but he was determinedly awake. “We had hoped that merely keeping you artificially stimulated by a chemical, you would be completely incapable of astral projection. Obviously, this was not the case.”

Ray frowned in confusion at her, then glanced at the wall again, hoping for a sign that Gavin was moving. The bodyguard with the cross tattoo, after Ray was secure, went back to guard Gavin’s door. Cherry Lips stood next to Ray’s chair. Ray’s expression evidently puzzled Dr. Harlow.

“Do you, perhaps, not understand what you did? When I entered the room, you had projected, but your corporeal body was still fully awake. As a doctor, this intrigues me, but as an AMO member, this worries me. If we cannot easily subdue your abilities, short of curing you, I’m afraid we may have to resort to different measures.” She stopped pacing and stood directly in front of him. “You will be under strict and constant surveillance. Do you understand what this means?”

“I’m not fucking stupid,” Ray said through a tight jaw.

Lily Harlow smiled sweetly and nodded at Cherry Lips. “I’m not sure you do.” Cherry Lips snapped to attention and flung out a hand to grab Ray’s hair again. He yanked Ray’s head back, forcing him to crane his neck. Ray flinched and yelped, but the ropes prevented his limbs from struggling. His heart hurt as it pounded in his chest, and he breathed heavily through his nose as he tried to keep his eye on Lily Harlow. She approached him slowly and deliberately. She ran a finger down Ray’s throat, making him shiver, before loosely wrapping her hand around his neck. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“It means,” she said, leaning down to whisper in his ear, “that until we can discover a way to curb your power, you will _not_ be falling asleep here.”

Ray gulped, feeling his Adam’s apple bob against Dr. Harlow’s hand. He glanced at the wall. _Gavin… Please do something…_ His vision faded suddenly, and he briefly saw the celestial sphere again. Then, one part of him caught a glimpse of Gavin curled up on the floor, his hands still tied and his gag still in place. Unbeknownst to him, Ray’s eyes glowed gold. He shouted, “ _Gavin!_ ”

Then the hand in his hair yanked him backwards, and just as his mind slammed back together again, he began to fall backwards. His stomach dropped, and he instinctively tried to curl forwards despite the ropes. With a shout, the chair slammed against the floor, and Ray’s head snapped back and cracked against the carpet. White stars popped in front of his eyes, though it was not as bad as it could have been.

The doctor stood over him and leaned down. “That was a mistake,” she said with a frown.

Ray blinked hard and winced. “I—I’m sorry—I can’t—my control…”

“Then you best focus on keeping a grip on your consciousness if you know what’s good for you,” she hissed. She straightened and snapped her fingers, looking over her shoulder to the two women at their desks. “Mikaela,” she ordered. “Give me the sample of Narvaez’s blood for the microscope.”

Dr. Harlow disappeared from Ray’s sight, but he heard Mikaela’s “Yes ma’am!” Cherry Lips gripped the edge of Ray’s chair and righted him again with a sadistic grin.

“Don’t try anything funny,” he said. “Or you’ll be sorry.”

Ray held back his sarcastic reply and swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn’t need to be told twice. His back was tight with stress and anxiety. His eyes roved as he tried desperately to stay awake, but some strange side effect of the caffeine in his system and his previous astral projections was making it difficult. He bit down on his tongue, hoping the pain would help him focus.

To say this was bad would be a vast understatement. Gavin was now his only true hope of getting out. How could this simple, easy plan have gone so horribly wrong?

* * *

 

Gavin hadn’t moved since he had been thrown into the wall office that was now his prison. The bodyguard posted outside his door grew tired of glancing in and seeing the same thing. Gavin, though he should have immediately worked his gag off, had made no motion to do any such thing.

He couldn’t seem to focus right. He withdrew in on himself, old fears resurfacing and lingering. He squeezed his eyes shut, the back of his neck hot and prickly, his heartbeat fast. His entire body was tense and stiff as he held himself still. He was being weak and he knew it, repeating that message to himself over and over as he fought to swallow the fear crawling up his throat.

“ _Gavin—!_ ”

The noise startled Gavin. He jerked his head up just in time to see Ray disappear again. There was a flicker of movement at the window next to the door, and Gavin collapsed limply back down as the bodyguard peeked inside to check on him. What Cross Tattoo saw was Gavin in the same position he had been in since he was locked inside.

Gavin waited an extra few moments to make sure the bodyguard was no longer looking at him. Then, he started working the gag and rope off of him. The time for feeling bad for himself was over. He had been waiting, waiting for Ray to rescue him. He had been trapped inside his own mind. But it was clear to him that the plan was not going according to, well, _plan_. Now he had to put someone else ahead of himself. Now he had direction and the strong desire to get the fuck out of dodge.

He tossed the rope aside and tugged the gag off of his neck. Fear still clawed at his stomach, but it was easier to manage now that he wasn’t sitting around waiting. He crept close to the door, but his bodyguard had moved away. The one narrow window looked to be made of bulletproof glass. He studied the door, noting that it had been reinforced and had a new, complicated lock on it. But it was all metal, and all screwed tightly into place. Gavin coughed lightly into his fist. He still might be able to do something about that, but it would surely be noticed. He needed a distraction.

He peeked out the window next to the door in time to see Dr. Harlow put a slide underneath a microscope and lean in to examine it.

At this time, Ray lost control again. His eyes flashed gold, and the image of the celestial sphere and its star put a hole in his vision. He was getting seriously sick of that. His image shivered as a projection tried to separate itself from his corporeal body. Cherry Lips, who had been prowling around Ray’s chair, raised a foot to kick him in the side, but the effect was done.

In the lobby, under the microscope, the blood sample under the glass slide glowed blindingly bright for the viewer. Dr. Harlow shrieked and lurched back as the glass slide shattered, the small dot of blood exploding everywhere.

A distraction.

Gavin started to scream, so that the door rattled in its hinges. It turned out, however, that he did not have the time to vibrate the door out of its frame. It was yanked open by a confused woman in a lab coat, rushing over without thinking to see what was weird about the door. Gavin felt a little bad about it later, but she was the one who had made the mistake. She brought her hands to her ears and crumpled to the ground.

Gavin leaped over her and scanned the room to judge his next move. Harlow was near the desks, clutching onto the edge of one, locks of her hair floating out of her ponytail and around her face. The other lab-coated woman was patting her back, making sure she was okay. The bodyguard with the cross tattoo had approached the desks but turned now to spot Gavin.

Gavin grinned and cracked his knuckles. He was going to have some fun taking his emotions out on them.

* * *

 

Cherry Lips bolted from Ray’s side to check on Harlow and to assist Cross Tattoo as Gavin started running around and shrieking. Ray, this time, allowed his consciousness to slip out, the image of the celestial sphere burning into his retinas. He reappeared behind his chair and immediately set to untying himself. He was happy to discover that despite being only a part of his consciousness, he still had equal abilities. By closing his corporeal body’s eyes, it was easier to concentrate on what he was looking at as well.

The knot was tricky, but he loosened it enough to wriggle out. He woke back up, cringing as his head pounded with a migraine, and wiggled his shoulders until he could lift the rope over his head. Then he bent down and slid the ropes off his legs. Just as he prepared to stand up, Cherry Lips spotted him escaping and cried out an alarm. Harlow shouted from somewhere, “He is too dangerous to escape alive!”

Ray leapt out of his seat as Cherry Lips charged at him. He backed up wildly, but there was nowhere to go. “Gavin, help—!” he cried. Cherry Lips went for the throat. Ray brought up his arms too late, too clumsily; the bodyguard’s hands slipped in between his shoddy defenses and wrapped around his throat while the momentum slammed him against the wall.

Ray’s throat closed, and he started to panic. He squirmed and tried to gasp for breath, his heart fluttering against his ribcage. He batted and pulled at Cherry Lips’s hands uselessly. Oh god, he couldn’t breathe. His vision pulsed and edged with darkness. He struggled against the grip, but the world was closing in on him. Oh god, oh god, oh god. He was going to die here. His movements slackened; his eyes rolled up into his head. He began to sink to the ground.

A loud clatter. Cherry Lips jolted forward and loosened his grip on Ray’s throat. Ray dropped to his hands and knees, one hand massaging his throat as he shakily sucked in fresh breaths. Another clatter, accompanied by the dry cracking sound of splintering wood. Gavin had run up behind them, grabbed the chair, and smacked Cherry Lips over the back twice, breaking the chair in half. The bodyguard jerked forward again, throwing out his hands to brace himself against the wall over Ray.

Ray couldn’t seem to move. He was dizzy and felt like he was floating. Shifting his gaze made the entire room tilt dangerously. He wobbled on his arm, and he thought maybe, maybe he could just lie down for a while. The bodyguard, meanwhile, turned to face Gavin as he rubbed his head.

“You wanna go?” Gavin taunted. “You wanna go, bitch?” Then he turned and fled from the room, the bodyguard swiftly giving chase. As soon as he was out of sight, Ray heard Gavin scream. There was a heavy thump as a body hit the floor.

Then suddenly Gavin was at his side, shaking his shoulders and prying him off the ground.

“Ray, come on,” Gavin said quickly, his words tripping over each other, his voice a little raspy. “Come on, Ray, come _on_!”

Ray somehow made it to his feet, but the world teetered in front of him, and he stumbled into Gavin, who slid his arm around Ray’s back and shrugged on of Ray’s arms over his shoulder. They made it to the door of the wall office before the floor seemed to pitch underneath Ray, and his knees buckled. Gavin stooped to catch him, but Ray struggled to control his legs. He still felt like his head was floating somewhere above high above his feet, though he knew he was not projecting.

The AMO members were all on the floor in front of them, unbalanced by Gavin’s sonic abilities. Some of them were recovering by now. Ray sagged against the doorframe, breathing heavily and with a distant gaze.

“Ray, we’re almost there, we can get out!” Gavin insisted, trying to pull his friend along. “Come on, you mong!”

Ray raised his eyes to fix Gavin with a dark stare. Purple bruises were starting to form around his throat, shaped vaguely like fingers. “Gavin,” he said, his voice weak and barely louder than a whisper. “I’m sorry, I can’t… I can’t go on.”

“I’m not leaving without you!” Gavin cried. “Get up, get up! You can’t give up now!”

Ray shook his head and closed his eyes, sinking completely down to the ground. Gavin screamed hoarsely in frustration and whipped around when Harlow carefully picked herself off the ground.

“I’ll deafen the lot of you!” Gavin shouted. “I’ll burst your bloody eardrums, and explode your brains, and—and…!”

“And we’ll end you, too. Bullets work faster than your voice,” Lily Harlow said calmly, reaching back to undo her now-wispy ponytail and sliding the hairband around her wrist. She shook her smooth blonde hair out and easily redid her ponytail. As she fixed her hair, she said, “But I don’t think either of us want to deal with our friends and co-workers dying. Perhaps we can strike a deal.”

“Why would I _ever_ want to deal with someone who—who…” Gavin cut himself off. Normally, he would refuse entirely to cooperate with who he perceived to be the bad guys. But Ray was down, and he couldn’t get the both of them out of his own. His only other options seemed to be leaving Ray behind or allowing both of them to die. The imminent threat of death paralyzed Gavin for a moment.

Harlow waited patiently. Gavin crouched down next to Ray and made sure the lad was still awake. The flutter of eyelashes and soft moan revealed that he was. “What… What do you want,” Gavin said through gritted teeth.

“Well, I know very well what _you_ want,” Harlow said, plucking pseudo-absentmindedly at her sleeves. “Freedom from here. And while I’m not going to make promises you or I can’t keep, and while I loathe to let you go, I will allow you your freedom in exchange for sizeable samples of your blood. Not just a vial, but comparable to a donation’s worth. I want your blood, your friend’s blood, and the rest of your co-workers’ blood.”

“I can’t…!” Gavin sputtered. Lily Harlow merely shrugged. The two bodyguards started to pick themselves up off the floor, shaking their heads to clear them.

“If you can’t agree to that, well, then I guess you both will never leave here alive.”

“Not all of them!” Gavin blurted. “Not—not all of them.”

“Just the main six of you, then,” conceded Harlow.

Gavin huffed and gazed hopelessly at Ray’s quivering eyelashes. He bit his lip and hated himself for the words that curled off his tongue like poison. “Okay. You have a deal.”

* * *

 

“There!” Jack shouted, pointing through the windshield. Matt and Blaine leaned forward eagerly and spotted Gavin and Ray entering the parking garage. Blaine was out in a heartbeat when they noticed how Gavin was barely supporting Ray, and how both of them looked miserable and tired. When Ray looked up to Blaine as he was passed from man to man, Jack gasped. Bruises were forming prominently on the young man’s neck.

“What happened?” Jack whispered.

Matt shook his head. “We should never have done this…”

The three mutants slid into the backseat, with Ray in the middle. He lolled his head, leaning heavily against Gavin, his eyes half shut as Jack immediately drove out of the parking garage.

“What happened?” Jack asked again, his voice tight with worry.

“What’s that around your wrist?” Blain asked, leaning forward to look across Ray. Gavin sheepishly held up his hand to reveal a silver wristband.

“A GPS tracker. Let me explain!” he added quickly when the other three startled. “It’s part of a—an agreement I made with Dr. Harlow. It was the only way I could get both Ray and me out of there safely.” He shivered and slung his arm around Ray and began stroking the lad’s hair. “The tracker is to make sure I uphold my end of the bargain.”

“Which is…?” Jack prompted. Gavin briefly met his eyes in the rearview mirror, his expression pained.

“All of us Achievement Hunters—the main six anyway—need to give a pint of blood to them. Tonight.”

“Gavin…” said Jack quietly, focusing on the road in front of him. It was the middle of the afternoon, too bright for what they were talking about. He thought that nighttime would be more thematically appropriate.

“Well _I’m_ sorry,” Gavin snapped. “Did you want me to leave Ray behind?”

Jack shook his head. “No, no, God no. I think you made the right decision. I just wish it hadn’t come to this. I just—wish you didn’t have to do that, that… that…”

“That we hadn’t done this plan?” Ray suggested quietly, speaking for the first time since leaving the office building. Gavin still stroked his hair, but his eyes had drifted more open even though the light seemed to cause him pain. He closed his eyes again and relaxed against Gavin’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Well… I was successful,” Blaine said after a beat. “I deleted the information and emailed out a virus to everyone on the mailing list. When they open it, the computer they are on will not let them access that information again. It should be subtle enough that they won’t notice for a while.”

“Well I’m glad _that_ worked out,” Gavin said, a bit angrier than he intended.

Jack glanced back at Blaine with a sigh. “Call Burnie,” he said. “We’re meeting up again somewhere else.”

* * *

 

No one was happy about the arrangement.

They met up at a park. Geoff swooped in and healed Ray’s bruises before the lad could say anything about it. For whatever reason, Ray did not seem happy about it. He did not seem happy about much, though, having only recently felt like his head was attached to his body. It would take a few more hours for the caffeine to wear off completely, and until then, he was almost constantly pinching his own arm when he felt himself slipping. Within the hour, his arm was bright red.

Gavin was mostly embarrassed about his performance and weakness in the office, and just talked about the brief fight and the bargain. He relayed the information regarding the arrangement. The time, the place, the amount of blood to be given.

“No way,” said Matt Hullum. “You’re out now. We can get Blaine to disable the GPS tracker, and…”

“No!” Gavin said with a horrified expression on his face. “No, we have to keep up our end of the deal. They’ll retaliate if we don’t. If we go along with them, though, we—we should have a few weeks rest, yeah?”

Matt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Burnie patted his shoulder and said, “It’s just you six, right?”

Gavin nodded. “Originally, she—she wanted all of us. The ones she knew about anyway. But we were at a bit of a stalemate. She settled for us six.”

“They were in there a long time,” Jack said. “You saw what they did to—to Ray. It—it’s not the end of the world, and we could all use a little break. This should keep them off our backs for a little while.”

The rest reluctantly agreed, and then they all split up. Matt Bragg apologized profusely to everyone for the mission, but Burnie assured him that he was not at fault, that no one could have known what would have happened. Matt Bragg left with Jeremy in their eggshell blue rental car. Those who were not a part of the main six Achievement Hunters went back home, breathing a little easier. The six men, however, hung around town until it was time, refusing to bring Gavin’s GPS tracker anywhere they don’t want it to be.

It was anticlimactic, the blood drawing. Late at night, long after the sun had gone down, a van was waiting at the designated spot near another park. The Achievement Hunters had their abilities to protect them from broken promises, and the AMO members had their guns. One of the doctors from the office—Mikaela, Gavin remembered—stuck them with needles and carefully filled a pint-sized bag to roughly three-quarters full each time.

An hour later, the van left, and the Achievement Hunters finally went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :D


	20. One for Sorrow

The reactions to the Achievement Hunter’s video was immediate, no doubt encouraged by the several outside people boosting it along. Mere hours after it was posted, it was retweeted by Markiplier, who admitted to his fans as well that he, too, was a mutant. Further prodding got him to claim that he was an empath, and could influence emotions through use of his voice. Meg Turney from SourceFed revealed her mutant status on both her twitter and her vlog and explained in detail all she knew about being one, but she didn’t say exactly what she could do. The Game Grumps, though none of them were mutants themselves, offered support to their friends and anyone else who was a mutant.

Many people were, of course, incredulous. Some high profile internet celebrities rudely expressed their disbelief. Dozens upon dozens of people tweeted to Roosterteeth and Achievement Hunter, or blogged about it, trying to call them out for their “joke,” to point out the “special effects.” Someone—sometimes the company twitter itself, sometimes Arryn or another partner, sometimes a complete stranger who was also a mutant—would always defend Roosterteeth.

The ball was rolling. It was small right now, contained to the Let’s Player and gaming communities, but through social media, it was bound to get bigger. It didn’t hurt that more AMO members were appearing on the news. They claimed that their warehouse and an office building were attacked by mutants. Later that week, another graffiti incriminating AMO in a similar fashion to Lindsay’s message, appeared on a building in Austin. It was even signed “X.” And no one in Roosterteeth could have done it. 

* * *

 

The first night back in his apartment, Ray spent a large chunk of it awake and afraid to sleep. The caffeine had worn off, and he was faint from having his blood drawn, but whenever he fell asleep, one of two things happened. Either he had nightmares, or he would accidentally project into the Astral Plane. The latter happened three times before Ray gave up, especially since on the third time, a Nightmare found him. It had snuck up on him, and it had been like a traveling, undulating body of golden water seemingly made out of glitter. It had sucked at his legs and pulled him under so he couldn’t breathe, and he had to struggle out of it, kicking and flailing, before he could wake up in the real world.

Ray emailed Chetan Bhattacharya, contacting him for the first time since the Indian had warned him against the celestial spheres and the “obsession.” When Chetan emailed him back in a few minutes, revealing that he was also awake, Ray immediately started a video call.

They chatted for a couple hours. Ray spent the first portion of their call explaining everything weird that had happened: getting stuck in the crystal at the top of the Astral Plane, the celestial sphere connecting his friends’ minds together, the caffeine’s effects on him, how he projected while still awake, the Nightmare. When he was done, Chetan ran a hand through his hair nervously and tapped his foot restlessly.

“Ray, that is a lot of weird things that are red flags to me,” he said. “No one I’ve read about has mentioned the effects of stimulants on projecting. They probably never ingested enough to have the effect you did. As for the Nightmare—it could just be a coincidence, but it’s highly, _highly_ strange for you to have encountered two in such a short span of time.”

“Could it have been mine?” Ray asked quietly, remembering how it had stopped his breathing despite him only being a consciousness.

Chetan shook his head. “When you project, you don’t dream, and you can’t have a Nightmare without someone dreaming. No, it’s probably just a coincidence. But the star, the celestial sphere… I—I don’t know _how_ you survived that. You should have burned up immediately.”

“Yeah, but Geoff…”

“No, Ray,” Chetan, looking directly into the webcam. “I _meant_ immediately. From the sounds of it, you lasted a good few seconds before your healing friend got to you.” He ran his fingers through his hair again and puffed out his cheeks. “No one I know of managed to only partially project as well. I—I don’t know what to tell you, honestly. Ray, I—I fear that we are more different than I previously thought.”

Ray felt his stomach drop. “What does that mean…?” he asked slowly.

Chetan sighed and put his face in his hands. “I’ll look at my ancestor’s journals again. Maybe I missed something, maybe I—Ray, I have to ask you to not project anymore. I know I told you not to go to the Astral Plane before but—maybe you shouldn’t project at all.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Ray muttered. When Chetan asked for clarification, he said, “I’m having… I keep accidentally projecting, especially into the Astral Plane, when I sleep. I’ve fucking _tried_ , but whenever I fall asleep, it seems like a sure fucking thing now.”

“I’m sorry, Ray. This isn’t my area of expertise, not for astral projecting. I’ll do my best to help, but…”

It was Ray’s turn to sigh. “Whatever. I think that’s all to there is to talk about.” Without even a goodbye, he reached forward and ended the call. After a beat, he shut off the computer as well. He returned to his bedroom and crawled between the sheets, bringing his Nintendo DS with him. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

Gavin did not go to work on Monday. According to Geoff, the lad had woken up croaking like a bullfrog. Using his sonic abilities so much in the past couple of days had really roughed up his throat, and he was spending a day not talking and eating an entire bag of throat lozenges. By Tuesday, though, he was back, albeit with a hoarse voice that the audience would _surely_ love. But by Thursday, Gavin’s voice was entirely back to normal.

Ray arrived at work on Monday nearly an hour late. He had only slept a couple of hours the night before, and those hours had been light and unrestful. It showed in his expression and voice and body. Exhaustion slouched his shoulders and hooded his eyes, and put shadows like bruises underneath his dark eyes. Michael noticed this right away, clapped a hand on Ray’s shoulder, and asked what was the matter.

“Nothing,” Ray said. “I didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”

“You sure everything’s alright?” Michael asked in a low voice so that the gents wouldn’t overhear them and pry needlessly. “You know you can talk to us—”

“I’m _fine!_ ” Ray snapped, loud and sudden, and shoved Michael away. Michael blinked in confusion at Ray’s sudden outburst. The gents glanced over, worried, as well. Ray tugged out his chair with more force than necessary and threw himself down onto it. “Everything’s _fine._ I’m just fucking tired!”

“Alright, alright,” Michael said defensively, taking a step back. “Sorry I fucking asked.” Ray thought he detected a sarcastic edge and shot a glare at Michael, who ignored it to the best of his ability. Michael remembered the bruises, even if Geoff had healed it before anyone else could get a proper examination. He gave Ray the benefit of the doubt.

Ray’s condition did not improve as the week went on. In fact, it seemed to worsen, the shadows under his eyes becoming more pronounced. Work sometimes seemed to be the only thing keeping him awake, though his performance in Let’s Plays deteriorated. He still did his best to speak, though.

Jack noticed Geoff was looking tired, too, and when he asked him about it, Geoff remarked simply that he was just worried about everyone. It was stressful, fretting about everyone. He could only imagine how Burnie was feeling, too.

“It’s frustrating, Jack,” Geoff admitted quietly. He looked at his hand, which he clenched and unclenched repetitively. “I can heal all these physical things, but I can’t do a damn thing about the psychological things. Sometimes I—I feel so fucking useless.”

Jack patted his back and chose his words carefully. “We’re all doing the best we can. You just need to be there for everyone, and I think eventually things will turn out alright.”

Work was an excellent distraction. Everyone, really, was grateful to get back into the groove of working again. It was positively _relaxing_ to record and edit Let’s Plays again without the looming threat of AMO hanging over their heads. Gavin seemed the most into it. If anyone asked him if he was alright after the last mission, though, he would give approximately the same answer, saying, “I didn’t really like being gagged, but we all got out okay.” And then he would grin and return to the task at hand.

Ryan wasn’t having a great week, though. It could be argued that none of the Achievement Hunters were, despite the distraction of work, but Ryan had a different problem dangling over his skull than his coworkers. He was acutely aware of it Monday morning upon arriving to work when four crows perched on the edge of the roof over where he entered the studio. They didn’t say anything to him, but he could recognize a warning when he saw one. He wondered anxiously if crows understood symbolism as well…

On Wednesday, Miles poked his head into the Achievement Hunter office, out of breath as he looked at Ryan. “Oh, for God’s  sake—Ryan, a huge fucking bird flew into the building and is really freaking people out. Could you—could you take care of it?”

Ryan sighed, setting his headphones on the desk and standing. “They don’t always listen to me, but if it’s confused, I should be able to guide it out.”

As he expected, Miles brought him out to see a crow. It flapped around near the ceiling, but when it saw Ryan, it dived directly towards him. Miles and Ryan jumped apart, the bird swerving between them, as they cried out. The crow landed on a nearby table and cawed at Ryan, fixing him with a beady black eye.

“Get out!” Ryan said, his voice pitched higher than he would have liked. “Get out!”

It cawed a few more times, ruffled its feathers, and took off again, leaving behind a small fluffy feather. It seemed to find its way easily out of the building with no further assistance. Miles shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

“Why did that feel so creepy?” he asked, glancing at Ryan. Ryan was panting slightly, his eyes wide and his heart racing. He abruptly shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. Then, supposedly to change the subject, he asked, “How are you feeling, Miles? Everything alright?”

Miles gave him a strange look, like he was given a puzzle to which the giver had expected him to know the answer already. “I’m… fine,” he said slowly, rubbing his arm. “I should—I should get back to work, yeah. I’m just gonna go…” Without another word, he glided away from Ryan, at one point shooting a backwards glance over his shoulder.

Thursday morning, when Ryan arrived at work, there were nine crows perched on the edge of the roof. It was enough that Geoff remarked, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fucking crows in one place.”

“Usually at that point, they’re not crows,” Gavin supplied cheerfully. “When there’s so many, usually they’re rooks or something, and you’re just mistaking them.”

“No,” Ryan said in a low voice, drawing the attention towards him. “They’re crows.”

That day, Ryan finished up earlier than usual and noticed that Ray was nearly done as well. He put a hand on the lad’s shoulder, startling the poor man, and asked if he’d like a ride home from him tonight.

“You surprised me,” Ray accused in a hard voice, glaring at Ryan. Then he shook his head and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I—yeah, I guess I could use the ride.” He packed up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

Michael made extra effort to catch Ray’s eye as the two left. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, strangely serious. He held Ray’s gaze, as if trying to communicate something through staring alone. But Ray merely yawned and returned the statement.

Ryan and Ray reached the exit to the studio and were halfway across the parking lot before Ryan noticed the swarm of black birds above him, as thick as a cloud of gnats. He froze, his heart moving to his throat. Ray stopped, looking back at Ryan and about to ask what was up, but instead followed the gent’s gaze. Ray rubbed his eyes and looked again. There had to be two or three dozen crows wheeling in the sky above the Roosterteeth parking lot. The sun was low in the sky, close to setting, and painted the sky in ominous colors and dimmed the silhouettes of the birds.

“Ryan…” Ray asked. “What’s… What’s with the birds, and why do I feel like we’re about to be in a Hitchcock film?”

Ryan moved his gaze down to look at Ray with wide eyes, but other than that he seemed remarkably calm. “They’re here to collect their debt,” he said in a carefully controlled voice. Ray stared at him, not understanding anything through his sleep-addled brain.

“Wha…?”

“I think we might want to go back inside,” Ryan said, “and wait for nightfall when the crows all go to bed.”

Ray swayed slightly and scratched his head. “Um. Okay…”

Keeping an eye on the birds, Ryan gently turned Ray around and headed for the main building again. It was a straight shot. Ryan found himself staring desperately at the entrance, wishing it would come closer faster, afraid to run lest it sparked the crows into action.

As it turned out, the crows didn’t need a cue from Ryan. A single shriek was all the warning Ryan got. A massive feathery body collided with the back of his head, something sharp raking across his scalp. He ducked instinctively, letting the bird roll over his head, and shoved Ray forward. Ray stumbled towards the entrance, barely keeping his footing. He turned, horrified, frozen in place as the birds began to attack.

“Go!” Ryan cried, smacking a crow to the side before it could crash into his face. A dozen crows descended from the sky, swarming around Ryan. “Get inside! They don’t care about you!”

Ray didn’t need to be told again. He spun and fled as Ryan waved his arms to fend off the crows. Ryan tried to head for the entrance as well, but more crows surrounded him. They pecked and scratched at him, cutting open his bare arms and opening wounds on his face. He had to stop moving so that he could throw his arms over his head. The crows raised a cacophony of caws and shrieks. It was all Ryan could hear, though he knew he was shouting, too.

He swung at another crow, and suddenly one was directly in front of his face. His right eye erupted in hot, searing pain, and that side went blurry and then dark. The crow dug at his face, and it was all Ryan could do to slide a hand between the bird and his eyes. He could feel the warm, sticky blood coat his palm as well as some other substance. The back of his hand, too, suffered, the skin splitting open under the onslaught and his nerve endings lighting up like they were set on fire.

Ryan sank to the ground, his arms covering his head to the best of his ability. He curled up on his side, alternating between dry-sobbing and screaming hoarsely for release. His eye was agonizing, searing with pain, and the skin on his face, hands, and arms all burned with scratches and wounds. The crows’ beaks and talons raked and stabbed at him like tiny, brutal knives.

Ray, meanwhile, had gone to get Geoff. He ran as fast as his small, exhausted body could carry him and fell into the Achievement Hunter door more than he opened it. He retrieved Geoff with a few well-chosen words, though the rest of the Achievement Hunters trailed after them. What Geoff saw was a body covered in a writhing mass of feathery black bodies, all cawing and shrieking. He ran fearlessly towards the crows, waving his arms wildly and shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Get out of here! Go on! Get!” he yelled.

Miraculously, the crows fluttered off of their sobbing victim, dissipating into the sky. Ryan, through the veil of pain, could dimly hear them cawing, _chanting_ , <For the fallen! The debt is repaid!> But all he could do is curl tightly into a ball and clutch at his eye, even as Geoff tried to pry his hands away.

“Let me _heal_ you, you fucker!” Geoff snapped. The others formed a loose semicircle around them, worried but also nervously keeping their distance. Ryan was covered with blood, and more red was showing than skin. His arms seemed, at first glance, the worst of the wounds, and Geoff easily closed them and let them quickly and naturally scab over. The entire time, Ryan was whimpering and nearly incomprehensible, and kept his bloodied hand clamped over his eye. By the time Geoff coaxed this hand away, his own fingers were slick with Ryan’s blood.

The sight was not pretty. Ryan’s good eye sought Geoff’s gaze before squeezing it shut in pain, but Geoff was momentarily transfixed by the gore in front of him. Geoff felt sick to his stomach—his employee, his _friend_ was seriously hurt. Ryan’s right eye was sliced open and nearly plucked out of the socket. When Geoff heard the little gasps from behind him, he was spurred into action and quickly put his palm over Ryan’s eye socket, willing the eye to be healed.

After a few seconds, Ryan moaned and squirmed underneath Geoff’s hand. It felt like a stone was being jammed against his eye. “No,” he groaned. “Stop, Geoff—” He gasped. “You’re doing it wrong!” Geoff lurched back, and Ryan scuttled away from Geoff. It had been awkward for Geoff, for he did not understand eyes as well as he understood flesh wounds, and apparently that had translated into his healing. He had tried to brute force his way through the process without much regard for how an eye might be different from an arm.

Ryan looked at his palms, then up at the Achievement Hunters, his face contorted with worry and pain, his eyebrows drawn up and together and his lips pulled in an expression of helplessness. The scratches around his eyes had somewhat healed, but still oozed blood, adding to the rivers already on his face. His eye had healed, _technically_ , but it had healed incorrectly. Whereas before there had been a stunning, clear blue eye, there was now a dim pale eye apparently covered in a white film.

“Ryan…” Geoff said, horrified at himself and at Ryan’s fate, as Ryan buried his face in his hands again. “Ryan, I’m so sorry, I…”

Jack and Michael jumped in front of Geoff and gently pulled Ryan up to a standing position. “Let’s go get you cleaned up,” Jack said, keeping his voice calm. It was a stark contrast to Ryan’s and Geoff’s voices, and from the lads’ expressions. With help from Michael, they walked the whimpering Ryan towards the building. “It’ll be alright, I—I… Everything will be alright, Ryan.”

Geoff shook his head and stared at his hands. Gavin leaned down and put a hand on the gent’s shoulder. Ray merely stood nervously to the side, swaying, his tired eyes wide and roving, unsure of what to do, unsure of where he was needed. Gavin sighed and glanced back at the retreating forms of Jack, Michael, and Ryan.

“You did the best you could, Geoffrey.”


	21. Unwell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a long one. And the 20th chapter, not including the prologue! Wow! Enjoy.

Geoff, Gavin, and Ray joined the others inside the studio just outside the Achievement Hunter office. They sat at the tables in the little kitchen area, a wet bloody washcloth on it in front of Ryan. Jack sat next to Ryan, rubbing his back and talking to him in a low voice as Ryan hid his face in his hands. Michael sat across from Ryan with Lindsay, but stood when the last three Achievement Hunters entered. The rest of the Achievement Hunter office stood awkwardly around the table.

“Ryan, I’m so fucking sorry,” Geoff blurted, prompting Ryan to look up at Geoff. Pale scars surrounded his damaged right eye like lightning. “I’m fucking—I’m so fucking stupid, and now…”

“Geoff,” said Ryan quietly. “It’s okay. It—it sucks, but it’s okay.” He ran a hand through his hair and forced a smile. “You didn’t know any better, but hey—I’d rather have a damaged eye than no eye at all.”

“We did some quick Google searching,” offered Kdin. “We think—at the very least, his cornea is scarred, but we don’t know if there’s more wrong. He might one day get his sight back, or he might not—there’s no way to tell here.”

“Well on the plus side,” said Lindsay, “now he can be Odin.”

Ryan laughed, and some of the tension visibly seeped out of the room. “Ah yes, let me tell you all I learned about death…”

“You fucking nerds,” Geoff admonished, but he allowed himself to smile.

“Would this be a bad time?” came Burnie’s voice. He was carrying a large cardboard box, the rest of the Roosterteeth mutants—except Matt—trailing behind him. The news of Ryan’s eye had already spread through the company, though they hesitated to release the information to the public for now. Burnie set the box down on the table with a thump. Miles took this opportunity to toss something small and black at Ryan. The gent tried to catch it, but the object missed his hand and landed on his arm.

“An eyepatch?” asked Ryan, holding up the object. “Is this from the costume department?”

“For your eye!” supplied Miles with a grin.

Ryan snorted and slipped the eyepatch around his head. “Arr!” he said, hooking an index finger to mimic a pirate. After a moment he laughed and readjusted the eyepatch. “You guys really know how to make light of a situation, don’t you.”

“I aim to please,” Miles said, patting Ryan on the shoulder.

Burnie coughed slightly and tapped the box. “Anyway, a fan sent this in for the Achievement Hunter guys. And don’t ask me what it is, ‘cause I don’t know.” Burnie paused. “Good heavens, Ray, you look like you’re about to fall down. _Please_ sit down.”

Ray rubbed the back of his neck and yawned as he shook his head. “Nah, I can’t, I’ll fall asleep.”

Burnie gave him an odd look, then shrugged and stepped aside as Geoff went to open the box. Miles, too, glanced at Ray with a worried expression. Geoff took out his keys and cut the tape, ripping the box open when enough of it was cut. Everyone crowded around Geoff and the box, trying to peer inside. There was a letter on top of the box’s contents, which Geoff set aside. He picked up the green object on top and held it up for all to see.

“Wha-a-a-at the fuck is this?” he asked, incredulous. It was a t-shirt of light green, with the Achievement Hunter logo in dark green printed on the front. The shirt that Geoff held up had Gavin’s name on the back like a sports jersey.

“A uniform, apparently,” said Michael. He had unfolded the letter and was reading it now. He was smirking and resisting the urge to laugh. He shoved the letter at Lindsay and pulled out the next shirt, a large one with Jack’s name on it. “What the fuck do they think we are?” he said, chuckling. “A superhero squad? Holy shit, there’s black shirts in here too, and something else.”

“Aww, look,” said Lindsay, separating a piece of paper from the letter and showing it off. “They included little concept sketches.” The mysterious fan had drawn a front and back of a uniform, consisting of black long-sleeved shirts underneath the green t-shirts, black jeans, and combat boots, as well as optional dark green gloves. The “something else” in the box was six pairs of these gloves, with a side note hoping they would all fit.

“If they don’t fit,” Burnie said, smiling, “the costume department can take care of the gloves.”

“Burnie, you can’t expect us to actually wear these,” Jack said. Geoff chucked the t-shirt he was holding at Gavin, who squawked and caught it with his head. He pulled the one with his name on it out and put it on over the shirt he was already wearing.

Burnie chuckled and winked at Jack. “Only if you want to. I guess you’re officially the mutant face of the company, guys, congratulations!”

“Man, I kinda want one,” groaned Lindsay, eliciting a laugh from Michael.

“Yeah, of course you do,” he said, rolling his eyes. But he still retrieved the shirt with his name on it and studied it. “Man, I can’t wait to accidentally burn holes into this.”

“But what purpose could these _possibly_ fucking have?” Geoff asked, baffled.

“O-o-oh,” said Miles, slinging an arm around Kerry’s shoulders. “We’ll think of something. Don’t you guys worry about that.”

Jack shook his head, but he was smiling. “Still,” he said. “It’s nice to know we have some support.” 

* * *

 Later that night, Ray slid easily from his dreams into the Astral Plane. At first it was a breath of fresh air from his panicked and suffocating dreams, as it usually was for the past few nights. He would dream about something terrifying that he couldn’t remember, and then he would accidentally project into the Astral Plane. But then the Nightmares started appearing.

It wasn’t just one, or even several, but dozens. Some were of solid gold, like the first one he ever saw. Some were colorful and, if not for their shifting forms that just barely did not hold their shape, seemed entirely too real. Some were as though formed from mist and made recognizable shapes as often as they didn’t.

The Nightmares gravitated towards Ray, appearing from everywhere and nowhere, quickly surrounding him despite his best efforts. He dodged one only to nearly collide with another. He bumped into a hooded figure with claw-like fingers and ran into a cloud of golden mist that clung to him like plastic wrap, making it hard to breathe. He shook off his leg a weird vine that crumbled away into a gray dust.

He flew around wildly, too panicked to think straight, just trying to get away. They clamored in around him, and he pushed through them, seeking respite. He found himself in a small opening like a forest clearing. They surrounded him completely in all directions, and Ray felt frozen in place as they stared him down. Then, they moved, diving for him, eating up the space between them. A giant man reached forward with a meaty hand, stretching out in front of the other Nightmares and aiming for Ray’s head. Ray squeezed his eyes shut.

Ray awoke from the Nightmares and his dreams and tumbled out of bed onto the floor, sweating and gasping, a hand grasping at his throat. His foot was wrapped in his sheets, and he kicked at it until he was free. Heaving for air, he scrambled towards the bedroom door, stumbling to his feet halfway there. Water. He needed water.

He shoved his way through the door and ran for the kitchen area of his apartment. He grabbed a glass from the cupboards, filled it with ice cold tap water, and gulped it desperately down. The cool liquid sliding down his throat helped ground him, taking him out of the astral experience. The very action itself reminded Ray that he was awake, awake, where both kinds of nightmares couldn’t get him. After finishing the water, he stood at the counter, waiting for his heart to stop racing. He gripped the glass cup so tightly that his hand trembled.

The apartment was too quiet for what he was feeling. Everything was too normal for what he had been through. He could feel himself tumbling blindly down memory lane. He had been so useless. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Fear, shame, and anger crawled up his throat and lodged there. He had been unable to do _anything_. And now he couldn’t sleep, couldn’t control his ability, no matter what he tried. He struggled against the wave of memories. And at the root of the wave was the time when he was a severed projection. The desolation and melancholy resurfaced with startling intensity. He felt like he was drowning.

With a guttural roar he chucked the cup as hard as he could against the opposite wall. It shattered with the great noise of tinkling glass. It was strangely satisfying. He grabbed another glass off the shelf and threw it on the ground, screaming some more for good measure. He took a plate down and smashed that too, hurling it with all his might.

With a shuddering gasp that was more like a sob, he slid down the counter to sit on the floor. He couldn’t stand it. Being here. Being tired. Being scared. He ran a hand through his hair and massaged his throat. He found himself entranced by a nearby shard of glass. It was wickedly long and jagged, glinting in the dim light. He stared at it for a while, rubbing his neck. He clenched the other hand into a fist, purposefully letting his nails bite into his palm. He fought to control his breath, to remain present and awake, but he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand the quiet. He couldn’t stand the unforgiving night.

He shook his head viciously and stood up. With shaking hands, he threw on regular clothes and pocketed his wallet, phone, and keys.

Then, he left.

* * *

 Burnie was awoken by the doorbell ringing over and over again. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he slid out of bed and wrapped a robe around himself. He shuffled downstairs with a passing glance at the clock. It was nearly four-thirty in the morning.

He peeked out the front window and whispered the impatient visitor’s name in surprise. He swiftly unlocked the door and yanked it open. He had no time to do anything else before Ray had thrown his arms around him.

“Please help me,” Ray begged. “Null my powers. I—I can’t sleep.”

His voice was thick, and Burnie coaxed him inside and locked the door behind him. Burnie reached out with his power, settling an aura of nullification around his house. Some of the tension visibly left Ray’s shoulders as Burnie led him to the couch.

“Did you walk this entire way?” Burnie asked, carefully hiding exactly how worried he was in his voice. He left Ray on the couch for a moment to get him a glass of water.

“I walked for like, an hour,” Ray admitted. “But then I stopped at a bus stop and called a taxi. I—I didn’t know who else to go to. I can’t—I don’t want to dream.”

Burnie brought him the glass, but when Ray made no move to take it, he set it on the coffee table in front of the lad. Burnie caught the implications in Ray’s words. “Have you been accidentally projecting in your sleep?”

Ray put his face in his hands and shook his head. “I mean, yeah, and that’s worse than usual. I—the Nightmares, they swarmed me. And when I’m not—accidentally—in the Astral Plane, the—the dreams I have for myself… I haven’t slept all week. I tried dealing with it on my own, but I—I just couldn’t be alone in my apartment anymore, Burnie, I…”

Burnie stroked his chin and said, “I’ve got some sleeping pills upstairs. Strong stuff, not meant for regular use, but I’ll get them for you. I’ve never dreamed when I’ve taken them for insomnia. Take tomorrow off and stay here as long as you like. I can’t afford to take tomorrow off myself, but I can come back early.”

Ray sighed as Burnie headed for the stairs. “Thank you, Burnie,” he said, and his voice just sounded so tired and defeated that Burnie paused to look back at Ray. It killed him to see one of his employees this way. His protective and worrying nature was making itself known, and he thought he probably would not be able to focus on work at all the next morning. He ran a hand through his curly hair and blew a breath out through his puffed cheeks. He felt a flash of anger towards the AMO. How dare they harm his employees. How dare they hurt them and force them to such extremes. How—fucking—dare—they. Burnie made his resolve right then and there. His previous caution in dealing with the American Mutant Organization head on was thrown out the window. AMO was going down.

Burnie climbed the stairs to his bathroom, his worry for Ray quickly replacing his anger. He took two sleeping pills out of the bottle instead of bringing the whole thing downstairs. He paused by a closet and brought a pillow and a blanket down as well. When he handed the pills to Ray along with the pillow and blanket, Ray eagerly and immediately swallowed the pills, washing them down with the water.

“Thank you,” Ray said again, looking up at Burnie. “You’re a godsend.” Burnie’s heart nearly broke right there at how exhausted Ray looked. Burnie ruffled Ray’s hair and smiled at him.

“I do my best.” 

* * *

 When Burnie returned home some time after lunch, Ray was awake and on his phone, still on the couch with the blanket across his lap. It would take a few more nights of good sleep to completely recover, but Ray already looked a lot better—a lot calmer. He nodded at Burnie when he entered the room, and even flashed a smile.

“I take it the pills worked?” Burnie asked.

“Yeah, thanks a ton,” Ray said.

Burnie smiled warmly and patted Ray on the shoulder. “Someone else wanted to check up on you.”

Ray looked up at Burnie with a raised eyebrow. Just then, Miles took his cue to poke his head in, carrying a bag of McDonald’s and a cup of soda. He waved and approached Ray, who eyed the bag eagerly. Burnie allowed the two to be alone and retreated to the kitchen.

“I take it you haven’t eaten yet,” Miles said, handing off the bag to Ray.

“Holy shit,” Ray said, nearly ripping open the bag and immediately pulling out the burger inside. “You’re the fucking best.”

Miles laughed and sat on an armchair that was near the couch. “How are you feeling? Burnie told me you showed up at like four AM, and he gave you sleeping pills. I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed your mood this week, too.”

Ray winced and swallowed his mouthful of burger. “Well… yeah, I guess that’s true. I feel a lot better, though. But…” Ray paused and glanced over his shoulder as if to make sure Burnie was still in the other room.

“Ray, you know you can talk to me, I understand some of what you’re going through.”

"I know, I know..." When Ray spoke next, he lowered his voice. “Miles, I need you to do me a favor.”

Miles shifted so that he was sitting on the edge of his chair and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head and looked worried. He mimicked Ray’s quietness. “Yeah, of course man, what’s up?”

Ray put down the burger and showed Miles his phone. “I need you to drive me here.”

Miles frowned and scratched at his short beard. “The—the prison? Why? What’s—what’s at the prison?”

Ray took a deep breath and glanced behind him at the kitchen again. “Dr. Lehrer is imprisoned there.”

Miles made a loud, breathy squeaking noise like he started to say “ _What?_ ” but stopped himself. He coughed lightly into his fist and continued, “Um, e-excuse me, _what?_ You want to talk to the woman who kidnapped us and—and…”

Ray pocketed his phone again and leaned towards Miles. “Please, Miles. I need to speak to her. She’s the only—the only other one I know who knows anything about the Astral Plane. And—and I need to face her again. You understand, don’t you?” His voice turned pleading. “Don’t you?”

Miles sighed and looked down at his lap. He rubbed his face, then stared hopelessly at Ray. “When did you want to leave?”

Ray grinned and grabbed the McDonald’s bag and cup. After taking a quick sip of soda, he said, “No time like the present.” He threw back the blanket, and in a flurry of movement and crinkling of paper bag, Miles and Ray were out the door before Burnie even noticed. It was an afterthought, sitting in the passenger seat, when Ray texted Burnie.

_Out with Miles, will be back later._

* * *

 The prison was a large yellow building made purely out of rectangles. It was a huge flat property with yellowing grass and large patches of dirt, surrounded entirely by a tall chain link fence topped with barbwire. Ray knew from his research on his phone that prisons don’t just let anyone visit the prisoners. The prisoners would have a visit list, and Ray seriously doubted Dr. Georgia Lehrer would include him on hers.

Miles was understandably nervous, but as his luck would have it, he only needed to park down the road so that he wouldn’t attract the suspicion of the prison guards. And as _Ray’s_ luck would have it, all of the prisoners were having their afternoon outside time. Miles pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road, and they both got out, squinting in the bright Texas sun.

“You sure about this?” Miles asked over the roof of the car as Ray shielded his eyes and looked down the road towards the prison. From this distance, the prison looked no taller than a soda can held at an arm’s length. “It’s not too late to just—head back to Burnie’s or something.”

Ray dropped his head and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m going to project from the car—don’t let me overheat, okay?”

Ray climbed back into the passenger’s side, and a few moments later, he appeared halfway down the road. A hot second after that, he disappeared from view, turning invisible in order to sneak into the prison. He hopped off the ground and floated quickly down the road and through the chain link fence, never once attracting the attention of the guards. The prisoners were hanging out behind the back, separated by gender. Once he was inside the fence, he dropped back to the ground and started jogging.

He made a beeline for the woman’s side of the fence, not even bothering to run around a guy carrying a basketball and instead going straight through him. The guy was none the wiser. The prisoners were all doing exactly what one would expect prisoners to be doing—playing ball games, lifting weights, or just hanging out in small social circles. The woman’s side was the same. He paused in the middle of that yard, looking wildly around for some sign of the doctor.

He spotted her at a corner where two sides of the fence met. She was leaning against it, her arms relaxed at her side. Her brown hair was short and had a ragged look about it, prison life not serving it well. Dark circles were under her brown eyes, but she didn’t look too troubled. It seemed that she had seen Ray before he had seen her, and that she was waiting for him to notice her. When he did, she jerked her chin at him, beckoning him over. He did, walking cautiously now, and making sure no one else could see him. He stopped five feet away, and she turned slightly so that the casual observer wouldn’t see her talking to nobody, and would assume she was admiring the flat, boring scenery.

“Nice trick,” she said. “Though I must say, this is all a very odd surprise.”

Ray narrowed his eyes at her, and balled his hands into tight fists. “Don’t try anything funny,” he said.

Dr. Lehrer laughed and shot him an incredulous look. “Please. I’m in jail. I’m not doing anything. Besides, I am a doctor, not a hitman. I have no real ill will towards you.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Ray snapped. Dr. Lehrer merely rolled her eyes.

“Need I remind you that you were breaking and entering. And it was _also_ my job to capture mutants for the AMO. I was doing my job and protecting my research.”

Ray sighed huffily and glanced off to the side. “Why don’t you break out of here? You’re perfectly capable of doing that.”

The doctor laughed again. “You are _priceless_. Surely this is not the reason for your visit—wondering why I’m still in jail. I got caught, Ray. Breaking out would solve nothing, and it would only prove how terrible mutants are. No, I intend on serving my time and never using my ability again if I can help it.” She fixed him with a dark stare and crossed her arms. “Now, tell me why you’re _really_ here.”

Ray rubbed his arm and looked back at the prison yard. “One last thing before I get to that. I’m invisible, right? Why can you see me, but no one else here can?”

Dr. Lehrer sighed and fingered a lock of dark hair. “Of course, you guys wouldn’t actually know much about mutants. I _would_ be the one to ask, being a researcher.” She paused, humming to herself, as if debating how much she would cooperate. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll help you out, because you look awful and desperate, and it’s really quite pitiful, you know.

“When I was actively researching the different abilities, I divided mutants into two categories—physical and mental. Your friend Miles would be physical, as would the girl I also studied. Their abilities are controlled through physical processes and directly affect their body and the world around them. Your ability and my ability would be classified as mental or psychic. We use our minds far more than the physical mutants. It’s fairly simple. Now, I’ve never dealt with your question before, but if you want my best educated guess, it would be because I am a psychic mutant and can see through your little trick.”

“Makes sense,” muttered Ray. Ryan and Jack could see him when he was invisible, too, and they would probably be classified as psychics. Dr. Lehrer waited patiently as he mulled this new information over. Ray took a deep breath and met the doctor’s gaze. He felt strangely calm—he had expected himself to be more anxious. Perhaps it was her willingness to cooperate, or his knowledge that she couldn’t hurt him now. Here in the prison yard, as soon as she tried, she would be subdued. In that way, he had some power in this situation… unlike last time. “Okay. I—I need your help.”

Dr. Georgia Lehrer hid her mouth as she snorted. “That much is obvious.”

Ray flared his nostrils in anger and scowled. “I _don’t_ need your sarcasm,” he spat. “I came a long way to—ugh, listen. You’re one of the only people I know of who knows anything about the Astral Plane. I’ve been having some… _troubles_ lately, and I need to know if you can help me.”

Dr. Lehrer stroked her chin. “You know I don’t have to tell you anything. You can’t make me.”

“I am _begging_ you.”

She stared at him for a long time, searching his eyes and scanning his face. Finally, she said, “What exactly are your troubles. And remember to keep your voice down. You’re invisible, not silent.”

Ray exhaled and clasped his hands together in front of his chest. “Thank you, fucking thank you. First thing, I—last Sunday, I got myself captured by some AMO people—how is not important—and they injected me with caffeine.”

“Ah,” interrupted Dr. Lehrer, apparently not on purpose. It was more like she was musing out loud. “They must still have the files on the four of you. That was one of my hypotheses.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” continued Ray, furrowing his brow at her. “I tried projecting while being kept awake, and—well—I think it split my consciousness.”

The doctor’s eyes widened, and her hands dropped to her sides again to fiddle with her orange jumpsuit. “Explain.”

“Like, I sort of projected, but I was also awake. I was in two places at once, my physical body in one place and my projection in another, but they were both awake and conscious. And—the worst part—I couldn’t seem to stop it once I started. I was—slipping out? Fuck, I don’t know how to describe it. Like my mind was loose and I would just—partially project randomly.”

Dr. Lehrer thought this over carefully, taking a long time as Ray shifted from foot to foot. “Again,” she said, “this is my best educated guess. You are really my only sample point for an actual astral projector, so the technicalities of your ability are not always known to me. Before seeing you, I had known it only as a theory. My best guess is that it was sort of like diarrhea.”

Ray made a face. “Mental diarrhea. Nice.”

“I’m serious. Abnormally frequent and not easily controllable. Mental diarrhea. It would be interesting to study the effects of different types of drugs on you, looking at different stimulants, some depressants…”

“ _Okay_ ,” Ray snapped. “Enough of that. Another thing, okay? It’s about the celestial spheres in the Astral Plane. You’ve seen them, right?”

Dr. Lehrer went still. “Yes,” she said quietly. “They cannot affect me, as I can’t actually enter the Astral Plane—only look into it—but I can feel their power.”

“I almost touched one,” he said. “They call to me, they—they whisper to me every time I’m in the Astral Plane. One time I—I tried to cross planes, and it—it sent this _energy_ through me. It nearly killed me, if it hadn’t been for my—my friends.”

“That was very stupid of you,” Dr. Lehrer said sharply. Then she sighed. “Ray, I’ve tried to study them, but they’re on an entirely separate plane of existence, one that I cannot access. All I know is that they’re called celestial spheres for a reason. Their power—it’s bigger, purer than anything on the Earthly Plane and Astral Plane. I don’t know what they want, but they seem to want something, as further evidenced by their calling out to you. I once hypothesized that these spheres were what helped shape our world, our Planes, but I’ve long since abandoned that due to lack of proof. Whatever they want from you, it’s probably not good for you or anyone else. You should stay away.”

“I wish I could,” Ray said desperately. “I project there when I sleep. I can’t help it.”

“Then wake up when you do.”

“You don’t understand,” Ray continued. He started to pace, gesturing avidly. “It’s every fucking time. It wasn’t like this before, but for the past week it’s been every time. And Nightmares seem more drawn to me, and—you have to understand, I can’t just keep waking up every time. I can’t seem to sleep at _all_.”

She hummed to herself again. “Try sedative-hypnotics or some other depressants.”

“Try what?”

“ _Sleeping pills_ , Jesus Christ. Obviously forcing your system to be stimulated didn’t help anything, but sedating your system might have the opposite effect. It could lock down your mind, keeping you from accidentally projecting in your sleep.” Her eyes flicked to something behind Ray. “I have to go soon.”

“Thank you,” said Ray, quickly and sincerely. “Thank you, really. You—you didn’t have to talk to me, but you did.”

Dr. Lehrer exhaled loudly and ran a hand through her hair. “You forget that I am a mutant, too, and worked for AMO. I want a cure because I don’t want people like you to suffer like this. Since I can’t do that anymore… well, this is all I really can do.”

Ray thanked her again and disappeared. Dr. Lehrer knew then that he had woken up. She pushed away from the chain link fence and headed deeper into the prison yard. She had meant all that she had said. She knew the boy feared her at least a little bit, and while she certainly couldn’t blame him, it was an uncomfortable feeling. She paused and looked out once more at the flat Texan landscape. God, she hoped a cure would be found soon.

* * *

 Ray woke up back at the car with the air conditioner blowing in his face. He shook his head and rubbed his cold cheeks, catching the attention of Miles. Miles jumped at Ray’s sudden movement and smiled nervously at him.

“How’d it go?” he asked, a barely noticeably tremble in his voice. “Back in one piece, I see.”

Ray frowned and glanced out the window before turning back towards Miles. He rolled his tense and stiff shoulders. The visit had helped, he could tell. While he could never forgive Dr. Lehrer for what she did to him and his friends, having a conversation with her had calmed him somewhat. He was still worried about the celestial spheres and his future, still shaken by the events of this week, but it was like one threat was diminished in his mind.

“Good,” he said. “It went good.”

It was Miles’s turn to frown, but he shrugged and started the car’s engine. “Well, we’ve got a long ride back. You’ve got plenty of time to tell me all about it. If—if you want, that is.”

Ray caught Miles’s eye and flashed him a smile. “Yeah, yeah, of course, man. Though, could we stop by a CVS or a Walgreens on the way back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to rororat for the eyepatch idea~!


	22. Fixin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna draw pictures for this chapter but I couldn't find the motivation. I am sorry.
> 
> Guess you'll just have to enjoy the writey bits.

That Saturday, the day after Ray visited Dr. Lehrer in prison, Matt and Burnie called another practice session. It felt like they hadn’t had one in a while, and even though not everyone could make it, it would be a good way to start training the three newer mutants more regularly. Michael and Lindsay were the last ones to arrive. At the session were Matt, Burnie, Geoff, Kyle, Patrick, Blaine, Jack, and—surprisingly—Miles and Ray. The last two were not really participating in anything, but sitting on the edge of a stage off to the side and watching, sometimes chatting with each other and grinning.

Michael waved an acknowledgment to Geoff before leaving Lindsay to walk over to Miles and Ray. When Ray noticed him, he smiled and nodded, a greeting which Michael returned. “Hey, you’re looking better today,” Michael noticed.

Ray shrugged and glanced at Miles before answering, “Yeah, finally managed to get a good night’s sleep or two. Sorry about being a fucking prick to you all week.”

Michael sat down next to Ray, looking out across the cleared area to where most of the more experienced veterans were helping the new guys mess around with their abilities. “Fucking Christ, Ray, it’s okay. No one expects you to be happy and nice all the time, especially after what happened. Don’t you worry about my precious little feelings, man. I’m a big boy… I just want you to be okay,” he added, giving Ray a serious look. He glanced across the lad to Miles. “I just want everyone to be alright.”

An awkward silence settled between the three of them. They watched the other mutants for a while without talking. Blaine was sitting down with Matt on the podcast set, messing around with a laptop and two iPads. Geoff and Burnie were observing from the other side of the room, standing at the edge of the cleared area. Lindsay had joined the rest of the mutants in the middle of the cleared area, but for most part they all just seemed to be chatting. That is, until Lindsay chucked the tennis ball she had been hiding behind her back at Kyle’s head. Kyle jerked back, raising his hands and jabbing them forward. The tennis ball became trapped in a small sphere of _something_ that warped its image. Kyle shuffled out of the way before letting his hands drop, and the tennis ball continued its journey as though nothing happened, released from its sphere. The mutants there laughed and clapped.

“So what do we have here?” asked Michael. “Fill me in.”

“Well,” Miles said, shifting forward and pointing at the respective mutants as he said their names. “You know Blaine can basically control technology with his mind. You just saw Kyle use his ability. It seems to be some form of time manipulation, though I don’t know if that’s exactly what it is? Anyway, it looks like he can stop or slow objects in a certain spherical area. Currently we’re helping him do this when he _wants_ to, and we’re hoping he can expand the area. And Patrick’s ability certainly seems interesting. Look, I think he’s showing Lindsay.”

The attention certainly seemed to be on Patrick now. He held out his hand, palm up, and grinned at Lindsay before concentrating on his palm. Black, thick liquid seeped into his palms through his pores like evaporation in reverse. When a tiny pool was nestled in his palm, it slowly started to bulge, like it was trying to rise up. It struggled to do this for a few moments, before splashing back down into Patrick’s hand. Patrick plucked a previously-unnoticed rag from his pocket and wiped off his hand. The rag appeared to be ink-stained. Lindsay seemed ecstatic for him, giving him a thumbs up and a thump on the shoulder.

“What was that?” Michael asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“Ink generation and manipulation!” Miles said happily. “Isn’t that cool? Except, well, he can’t get rid of the ink once it’s there, so it’s sometimes a little messy. Especially since he hasn’t quite got the hang of the manipulation yet.”

“Ah.” A beat. “So, you guys not joining in?” Michael asked.

“Nah,” said Ray. “I’m not going to be projecting for a bit until I figure out some stuff.”

“Figure… out some stuff.” Michael paused, but Ray didn’t even try to explain further. Michael guessed it had something to do with the recent events, and decided not to pry. “Okay. And you, Miles?”

Miles shrugged. “I’m just keeping Ray company. Besides, I’ve been at this longer than most of you. I’m here more for support.”

“Makes sense,” Michael agreed. He shifted in his seat. They were his friends and acted like it, but it also felt like they were waiting for him to leave. He wiped his palms automatically on his jeans before reaching over and squeezing Ray in a side hug. “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said.

“Thanks, man,” Ray said, returning the little hug before Michael stood. He watched Michael wander over to the new mutants.

“Have you not told anyone else yet?” Miles asked him in a low voice. “What you did? What you talked about? You know Burnie’s really suspicious, but…”

Ray gestured vaguely. “It just doesn’t seem like the right time. I don’t want to worry them needlessly, anyway.”

“‘ _Worry them needlessly_ ’, Ray, are you hearing yourself?” Miles asked incredulously, holding Ray’s gaze. “You’re _already_ worrying them, dude.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ray spat back. His remark made Miles roll his shoulders uncomfortably and readjust his position. Ray shook his head and laughed softly to himself. “Please, Miles, I don’t want to bring it up when I barely understand anything myself. Take care of yourself, first.”

“Alright, okay,” Miles acquiesced, bobbing his head. “Okay. I understand.”

Meanwhile, across the room, Burnie and Geoff were talking quietly to each other as they watched the new mutants. For the most part, they were discussing their fellow mutants, and how nice it was to have AMO off their backs for a while. Nearly everyone’s conditions seemed to be improving, getting time to heal and relax again. Of course, Geoff and Burnie and Matt were all still stressed. They weren’t sure how long the break would last, and they just wanted everyone to be okay.

When this lack of certainty was brought up, Burnie coughed lightly into his fist and shifted from foot to foot. Geoff immediately caught on to the change in his demeanor and narrowed his eyes, but let him speak. “Geoff, I was thinking. Maybe we want to mount an actual offensive against the AMO.”

Geoff blinked. “Come again?”

Burnie turned to face Geoff head on, and Geoff mimicked his movement. “I’m serious. We shouldn’t just wait for something more to happen. We need to knock AMO down a notch, at least.” He gestured to the mutants in the rest of the room. “They’ve hurt us already, Geoff. Maybe beyond repair. That _kills_ me. And this is only for the people we know about; there might be mutants out there suffering under AMO as they search for a cure that will probably never exist. Now they’ve got our blood, too. If we wait to react again, we might not be able to recover at all.”

Geoff exhaled heavily through puffed cheeks. He watched Michael join the new mutants in the middle of the cleared space. “I dunno…”

“ _Really_?” Burnie asked incredulously. “You should be all over this! ‘ _I dunno._ ’ You’re the one who has been pushing for action since this whole mess started for you! This is unlike you!”

“And _this_ is unlike _you_!” Geoff snapped back. He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s as you said. We’ve been through a lot already. I don’t know if we can put them through any more. We’d be willingly forcing more trouble on ourselves. I can heal their physical wounds, but… Fuck, Burnie, I’m sorry, I’m just not sure anymore.”

Burnie hesitated, observing Michael toss a pen in the air in front of Kyle, trying to get the mutant to catch it with a temporal sphere. Kyle was obviously struggling, more often than not failing to conjure a warped temporal sphere at all. Sometimes he stopped time in one spot, but it missed the pen. Still, he didn’t seem too bothered, and everyone looked like they were having a good enough time.

“We need to at least reach out to other mutants out there. The ones we don’t know about. I don’t know what we _can_ do, but, I don’t know, maybe we can offer tips. Advice.”

Geoff seemed open to that, at least. “Of course, yeah,” he said. “If we can help other mutants, then we definitely should.”

“We need to show that a cure isn’t needed,” Burnie continued. “We just need training. Help. We’re not a danger or a burden or anything unless we’re treated as such. That sort of thing. Maybe we should even campaign a little against AMO.” He paused to sigh. “We’ll probably talk about it on the next podcast. I’m sure many people will have all sorts of questions by now.”

“Sounds good,” said Geoff. “Gavin will help with that, I’m sure. Just be careful what you say. As far as the public is concerned, you’re not a mutant, and if AMO catches wind of what you can do…”

“Yeah, I know.” Burnie looked at his hand, clenching and unclenching it. “Believe me, I know.”

* * *

 

At the beginning of the podcast that Monday, with Gus, Barbara, and Gavin, Burnie announced that they would be taking questions about mutants. Half an hour later, they began answering a couple. They acknowledged the dangers of mutations, but emphasized that a cure was not necessary. AMO’s reasoning was flawed.

“Even if we tried, we probably couldn’t cure it,” Burnie said to his co-hosts. “It’s a mutation of their very DNA. Do they want to change their entire body? Either way, all abilities can be controlled. Mutants can be trained and cared for, and they are only a danger if you treat them as such.”

“Yeah,” Gavin agreed. “Listen, if you’re a mutant out there and you’re scared of your ability or of hurting people, try not to be. Get to a good spot so you can practice alone, maybe, and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Any of us are willing to give you advice, too.”

“One person asks,” said Gus, “‘What if I _do_ hurt someone?’” Everyone on the set looked at Gavin for an answer.

“Then don’t let it happen again,” he said simply.

“Something that would be interesting,” said Barbara, “would be to have like, a camp, or something.”

“Where mutants could all get together?” Burnie clarified. “And help each other, and stuff?” Barbara affirmed. “That would be an ideal, wouldn’t it,” Burnie said with a laugh echoed by his three co-hosts. “Wouldn’t that be something to work towards…”

* * *

 

Another week passed before the American Mutant Organization made any reference to Roosterteeth. In this time, a third piece of graffiti cropped up in Austin, plastered on the side of a bridge, claiming, “The AMO is not our friend!” Geoff didn’t think any of his employees did it, but he still gave them a talk about not being aggressive. He didn’t think any of them really listened to him, but it was worth a shot.

As the week went on, Geoff and Burnie got more and more anxious. Their conversations got more heated as they tried to decide what was best to do to prevent more harm to their friends. But given everything that has happened to them, they couldn’t seem to agree on anything.

Ryan wore an eyepatch more often than not, and when asked he explained, “It tends to freak people out less when I wear it.” Sometimes he forgot, or decided not to mess with it, leaving him with a pale sightless eye surrounded by pink scars. When the news was broken to the public, most fans reacted with sympathy. A small faction of people, fans or otherwise, claimed this was reason why mutants should be cured, not trained. Ryan insisted this was not fair judgment, and did his best to explain that he had had debt with some birds and had to pay it off.

On Wednesday, a couple AMO members appeared on an Austin talk show. They explained how mutants could be dangerous, mentioning the street Ryan had destroyed on his induced rampage as well as their decimated warehouse. They hoped they were close to a cure, citing a recent DNA donation that came from a mutant with the ability to heal. When Geoff heard this, he scoffed.

“Yeah, I _heal_ ,” he said, gathered around the TV with a few others. “I don’t _change your entire fucking DNA_.”

The AMO representatives also mentioned that they were working on some… technologies that would hopefully be helpful to others. The representative who mentioned this was a sheriff from another town, and seemed far too excited about the technology.

Michael was watching this in his apartment with Lindsay. Watching this, they both sensed that the end of their break was approaching. Tension seeped back into their backs and worry threatened to crease their faces. They couldn’t be sure what was meant by “technology,” but given AMO’s previous treatment of mutants, they wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of it were new weapons.

Lindsay snuggled closer to Michael, but when he stiffened and shifted his position, she straightened back up and gave him a hard look.

“Okay, that’s it,” she said, startling him. “Why do you keep doing this?”

“Doing what?” Michael asked. Lindsay grabbed the remote and turned off the TV before continuing.

“ _This_ ,” she said, gesturing vaguely to him. “Where you tense up and refuse to touch me like you used to. I forgave it for a while ‘cause you were just figuring out your abilities and being careful, but it’s _been_ a while.” She softened, reaching forward to place a hand on his thigh. “Please, Michael,” she said tenderly, “you’re starting to worry me. I’m your wife—you can talk to me.”

“I know, I know,” Michael said, running his fingers through his hair. He glanced at the blank TV screen. “I’m sorry, I—I guess I didn’t really notice I was doing it.” He looked back at Lindsay, his eyes earnest, his expression guilty. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I know it seems like I have a good grip on things—and for the most part I guess I do—but I’m worried that I’ll slip up. I’ve—I’ve already hurt other people, with my ability.” He let out a shuddering laugh and glanced away again. “That’s all it seems to be good for. Hurting and destroying.”

“Oh Michael,” Lindsay said softly, reaching up and putting a hand on his cheek, coaxing his gaze back towards her. “I didn’t realize how much that was weighing on your shoulders…” She leaned in and he flinched away.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, scooting back on the couch. Lindsay licked her lips, and then closed the distance. “I can’t. I’m worried that I’ll slip up, and—and…”

Lindsay put her hands on the sides of his head and smoothed his hair back. “It’s okay,” she said, leaning in again. This time Michael didn’t flinch away. “I trust you, and it’s time you trusted yourself a little too.” She kissed him, for real this time, not just a peck on the cheek or a swift chaste kiss. A kiss to tell him she missed being this close, that it was all okay. She pulled away and smiled. “See? Everything’s fine.”

Michael laughed, his face turning red. “I guess you’re right,” he said, resting his forehead against hers.

“Of course I am,” Lindsay said simply. Michael grinned and kissed her again.

* * *

 

By Friday, the surviving guards from the warehouse were finally in a condition where they could relay information. A news station reported this, but also reported that the revealed information was confidential and not released to the public. All of that was in the hands of the organization they belonged to.

Later that day, unbeknownst to Roosterteeth, the head of research met with one of the current AMO heads. Sheriff Lowell was a big man with a big belly and a big moustache, but his slight portliness masked his muscle. Dr. Harlow summoned him to an office in Austin.

“We’ve identified the three mutants that are top priority,” said Dr. Harlow. She slid three pictures to him over her desk. “These are the three that are dangerous, and cannot be easily contained—if at all.”

The sheriff studied the pictures calmly. “Okay?”

“Well, since they are top priority mutants, we’ve set aside a few… special items for them.”

The sheriff leaned forward, interlocking his fingers and resting on his forearms. “And…?”

Dr. Harlow smiled. “We’re asking for your help.”

* * *

 

 Lindsay finished up editing a video and left the little office to greet Michael, Ray, and Ryan. Everyone else was still there, but the four of them would be leaving together. It was perhaps relatively a little early, but it was Friday, and, well, it had been an efficient day anyway.  Ryan could still drive, but he still wasn’t quite used to his lack of depth perception, and thus driving would be too dangerous for him right now.

The four mutants left, Lindsay hanging back to chat with Ryan, Michael ahead joking around with Ray as they traversed the parking lot. Michael had parked a little ways away, though he was regretting it a little now. Lindsay lightly thumped Ryan on the arm.

“Hey, still having those weird hunting dreams?” she asked.

Ryan looked mildly surprised by the question, but nodded. “Almost every dream I remember for the past few weeks,” he admitted. “It’s not like they’re bad, sometimes they’re even sort of enjoyable, but it’s kinda weird.”

Lindsay laughed. “Well, _yeah_ , duh.” She grinned mischievously. “I always knew you were a cat deep down inside.”

Ryan chuckled. “Don’t let my dogs hear that.”

Michael and Ray slowed to look at the pair. “Hey,” said Michael eagerly. “We should like, go play some Smash Bros. together or Mario Party or something!”

Ryan made a face, even stuck out his tongue. “Really?” he asked.

“Oh come on, Ryan,” Ray said, rolling his eyes. “It’ll be fun. Listen, you can have a good controller this time.”

“Not sure that will make much difference…”

Lindsay caught a flicker of movement behind a nearby car. She was aware of two or three people, all raising their arms. It was fast, aggressive, and she acted out of reflex. “Look out!” she yelled, throwing her weight into Ryan and taking them both to the ground. It was good that she did. As she shoved him, she heard a sound that was like silenced pistols in video games or movies, something like a high-pitched, short whistle. Something metallic pinged harmlessly off the asphalt.

Ray and Michael did not react so quickly. They noticed the movement several seconds after Lindsay did, and tried to jump out of the way. A dart lodged itself in Ray’s upper arm, and another hit Michael square in the shoulder. They stumbled, flinching, and then hurriedly ripped them out.

“Hey!” Michael shouted. “What’s the deal here!?”

“Fuck, I missed,” hissed a voice. Lindsay cloaked herself as best she could in the shadowy dusk, becoming a smudge in the air. She warned Ryan to stay down, who didn’t need to be told twice, before peeking over a car’s hood. Two men were standing behind a small car holding what looked like large, clunky pistols. She recognized one as the sheriff that had appeared on the talk show.

“I’m calling the… fucking cops…” Ray tried to say, but his voice weakened as he talked. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted, collapsing to the ground like his limbs had turned to jelly. This action seemed to startle the two strangers. Michael stooped to catch him, laying him on the asphalt so that he didn’t hit his head, then turned towards the strangers.

“Enjoy that, mutant scum!” hollered one of the men, the portly one with the moustache. “That’s for our warehouse guards! Fresh potential cures, catered directly to each of ya!”

“I’m getting Geoff,” Lindsay whispered to Ryan. He nodded at her, his visible eye wide. She sprinted for the building, hunched over and partially invisible, while Michael continued the confrontation.

“Why you…” Michael growled. He flung his hands out to the side and gritted his teeth. He felt his heart race as he started producing acid. He took two steps forward, and then agony bloomed in his shoulder where the dart had struck. It was pain unlike anything he had ever felt before, burning from the inside out, and he faltered. He dropped to his knee, clutching at his shoulder, as the internal fire spread. He opened his mouth and started screaming, fell on his side and writhed onto his back.

Ryan lurched over to him, not knowing what to do. He heard car doors slam and an engine start. He didn’t even think to stand up and watch the retreating car. He was focused on Michael, whose eyes were squeezed shut, his face red as he screamed and screamed and screamed. He twisted and tossed on the asphalt, convulsing and clawing at the ground. There was not a single animal in the vicinity, either, leaving Ryan feeling useless.

“Hold on, Michael,” Ryan said, his voice strained. “Geoff’s coming. He’s coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it was either cut it there or have a chapter vastly longer than the previous ones.


	23. Fight Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i haven't been updating anything recently. I started my internship and it's just been really hard on my side projects overall. So here you go.

In less than a minute, Ryan heard footsteps, the sound of sneakers slapping against asphalt. Geoff dropped to his knees beside Ryan, ripping his jeans open as he skidded but not caring. He put both hands on Michael’s exposed arm as Lindsay halted, her hands flying to cover her mouth in horror. Geoff winced as acid sizzled under his palm, but Michael managed to stop tossing around on the ground. He choked on his screams, too, trying his best to swallow them, but still clearly in anguish. Geoff’s hands buzzed, and Michael felt the healing power surge through him, but it mixed with the burning agony, making it more bearable but still there.

“What happened!?” Geoff cried. He looked at Ryan with feverish eyes. Before Ryan could answer, though, Geoff continued, “I can’t keep this up. I’m trying to heal his entire fucking body. Call Burnie, get him out here immediately.”

Ryan nodded. As Lindsay decided to check on the unconscious Ray, he pulled out his phone. Burnie picked up within two rings.

“Burnie,” Ryan said immediately, talking over Burnie’s greeting. “Get out to the parking lot. Now.”

“I’m coming,” Burnie said, and Ryan could hear the wind blow into the phone’s microphone as Burnie started running. “Who is that? Who’s screaming?”

Ryan swallowed hard, glancing at Michael. He was sweating, and all of his exposed skin was blotchy with red blemishes that shifted as Geoff’s powers worked.

“It’s Michael,” he said. “Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong.”

An agonizingly long minute later, Burnie appeared in the parking lot, running as fast as he could. Matt was behind him, and Ryan waved them down—though they probably could have followed the screaming. Geoff’s head was drooping, as if it felt too heavy. As they approached, Matt’s face grew horrified. He pushed Burnie forward with a motion that was more like he was smacking him on the arm several times.

“Go, _go_ ,” Matt said. “Put him out, null his powers! He’s producing acid, but his—his immunity is gone! It’s been suppressed!”

“What _happened_?” Burnie cried, dropping down beside Geoff. He put his hand on Michael’s forehead, but Geoff didn’t let go until Michael stopped writhing. Geoff leaned back onto his butt, breathing heavily, exhausted. Michael moaned softly, his chest heaving with his gasps, but he was nearly unconscious. He was trembling, his entire body shaking with exhaustion, and his red face was still all screwed up as he panted.

“Oh god,” Lindsay whispered in a trembling voice. She was holding Ray’s head in her lap, but her eyes were locked on Michael. Her eyes were bright and wet. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“I think so,” Burnie said. “For now. Good thing Geoff got to him so quickly.”

Geoff rubbed his eyes and noticed for the first time the three darts littered around their part of the parking lot. He reached over to the nearest one, picking it up and studying it. “Lindsay, Ryan, what the fuck _happened_?”

Ryan looked to Lindsay, who swallowed and blinked hard, wiping at her eyes before speaking. “There were some—some guys, they shot at us with darts. I saw them move, and pushed Ryan out of the way, but Ray and Michael…”

“They shouted something about cures,” Ryan offered. “Catered to us. There were only three darts, I don’t think Lindsay was ever their target…”

“No, she wouldn’t be,” Geoff said. “She’s not a huge threat to them. They don’t even have enough blood to—but you three…”

“Well?” asked Lindsay. “ _Are_ they cured?”

All heads turned to Matt. He shoved his trembling hands into his pockets and shook his head. “No—no I don’t think so. Not technically. But I can barely sense some of their abilities, and the rest are fading. I think it’s more like a powerful suppressant, and there’s no telling how long it will last. Maybe forever. Essentially a cure.”

Lindsay aimlessly stroked Ray’s hair, not even realizing she was doing it. She made eye contact with Ryan. “What do we do now?”

“I—I don’t know,” Matt said. He started pacing. “I mean, they’ll probably be fine, but—I don’t know what to do. They—they might lose their abilities, but—fuck, I don’t know.”

“Lindsay, Ryan, did you see where the guys went?” asked Burnie.

Ryan shook his head. “No, they left in a car but I didn’t see their plate or anything. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Geoff said, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder.

“Shouldn’t we like, call the cops or something?” Burnie pointed out.

“They _were_ cops,” Lindsay said quietly. “AMO members, too. One of them was on TV the other day. I think he was called Sheriff Lowell?”

“If we get the law involved,” Matt said, “they have just as much crap on us.”

“But they attacked us!” Burnie snapped.

“We committed arson on their warehouse.”

“They kidnapped us! Twice! Tried to a third time!”

“Breaking and entry, plus we destroyed a street.”

“But they—”

“ _One of their guards died_ ,” Matt suddenly screeched, stopping his pacing to gesture at Burnie. “It was birds, but they could easily trace it as murder back to _Ryan_ now that they have his blood and probably know exactly what he can do. The only reason they don’t make a fuss about it is because _we_ have shit on _them_ too. We start this, we both go down.”

Before anyone else could say something, Lindsay gasped, loud and shuddering. “Oh sorry!” she said quickly. “I wasn’t paying attention and—Ray moved, I was surprised.”

Sure enough, Ray shifted, just barely, his head moving slightly and his arm twitching. His eyes had opened just enough to show the whites and nothing else, and he let out a soft moan through parted lips. Everyone fell silent to watch him. He twitched his arm again; it seemed like he was reaching out to Michael.

“Geoff…” Ray muttered, barely audible. “Help…” Each word seemed a struggle, like he was trying to talk while pulling a truck.

“What, what is it?” Geoff lurched for him, scooting around Michael and grabbing Ray’s hand. As soon as contact was made, Ray’s entire body jerked. He arched his spine and drew in an impressive gasp. Lindsay instinctively scrambled back, getting away from him as his eyes flew fully open and glowed gold. The inside of his head lit up like a flashlight.

“You son of a bitch,” Geoff muttered before he shuddered as well, feeling the celestial energy surge up his arm like electricity. His hands buzzed warmly, and he thrust his head back as the energy filled his head.

Instantly he knew what was happening, thanks to the information in Ray’s mind that he now shared. When Ray had fainted, he had awakened in the Astral Plane, weak and faint. He could barely move, and he had felt himself fading. But the power of the celestial spheres had pulled him, keeping him there with their power, and he had had an idea. He had been faintly aware of his surroundings in the Earthly Plane, probably due to the drug currently in his system. But before he faded completely, he had called to Geoff and reached for the celestial sphere whispering to him. Now his hand was plunged into the crystal separating the Astral Plane from the celestial spheres, nearly touching the sphere itself.

Geoff understood. He redirected his attention to his body on the Earthly Plane and grabbed Michael’s hand with his free one. It was like moving through water. Burnie let go of Michael, lest he get caught up in the mysterious glowing lights as well, and only Ryan throwing out his arm stopped him from doing anything else. Michael’s mind joined Ray and Geoff, faint and nearly unconscious.

Geoff didn’t know how to _begin_ describing what happened next. He wasn’t even sure _Ray_ understood what he was doing, even though they shared mental spaces. The best he could say later was that Ray redirected the celestial energy, sculpted it, bent it to his stubborn will and desperate desire. Their corporeal bodies shone white-gold, energy bursting out of their pores like a supernova and purging their veins of unwanted chemicals. Their brains burned hot, and for five or so seconds, they could only see white fiery pain. Blood began to trickle from their noses.

“Lindsay!” all three of them cried in eerie unison. “Now!”

Lindsay freaked out and did the first thing she could think of—she punched Ray across the cheek. His head snapped to the side and he came to. His hand flew to his jaw so he could rub it, working it as he struggled into a sitting position. “Ahh,” he groaned. “Did you have to hit so hard?”

Lindsay ignored him and shoved past Geoff to Michael. Her husband’s condition was apparently not much different from before, but now his eyes fluttered open. He struggled to focus on her as she cradled his head in her hands, but he somehow managed it. He gave her a small, weak smile. “You’re so pretty…” he muttered. And then, he fainted.

“He did it,” Matt said in awe. “I feel their abilities returning to normal. Ray, I think you did it.”

“Great,” Ray said, leaning heavily on his elbow. His eyelids drooped, and it was clear that it was an effort to stay conscious. Geoff was in a similar boat, sprawled out on the asphalt. “Wasn’t sure it would work.”

“ _What_?” Ryan exclaimed. He leaped to his feet so he could be properly angry. Matt and Burnie looked on in confusion, not understanding what had transpired and what was going on now. “You messed with powers beyond your understanding _again, willingly,_ endangering yourself and Geoff and Michael, and you weren’t _sure_! What were you _thinking_?”

Ray lowered himself back to the asphalt, looking up at the darkening sky. “I was _thinking_ ,” he replied hotly, “that I could feel my ability going away and did the only thing I could think of before it was gone. I figured, if they wanted me so bad, I could control them at least a little. And it worked, didn’t it? Whatever drug that was in those darts, I got it out.”

“Would _somebody_ mind explaining to me what the fuck is going on?” Burnie asked, his voice pitched and his words rushed.

Ryan gestured at Ray on the ground furiously. “In his little Astral Plane, there are some celestial spheres existing on a plane higher than that one. Ray says they call to him or something, that they want him. And, well, as far as we know, the energy contained inside them just hurts and links minds together.”

“Ryan, that’s not what—” Ray started tiredly.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Burnie said quickly, his voice adopted a hoarse quality. “How is that possible? And Ray, I thought—I thought you didn’t want to project to the Astral Plane anymore.”

Ray sighed loudly, assuring that all the attention was on him. “Listen, I didn’t really have a choice. I just automatically woke up there. It’s all hard to explain if you haven’t seen it, alright? They’re on a plane above anything we can exist on. I don’t think they want _me_ , though, not like what Ryan seems to think. The celestial spheres, the energy contained inside of them, I think they just want to use me to get to the Earthly Plane. I just… told them what I wanted them to do.”

“ _Look_ ,” said Geoff sharply from the ground before anyone else could argue about it. “Whatever happened, I doubt lying around in a fucking parking lot is the place to discuss it. Someone _please_ help me up and preferably carry me inside.”

* * *

 

Burnie and Ryan physically carried Michael back into the Roosterteeth building, and Lindsay and Matt let Ray and Geoff respectively lean on them. They brought them to the Achievement Hunter office so that they could lay Michael on the couch. Jack stood from his chair immediately when they entered, antsy and wringing his hands.

“What happened?” Jack asked. “Lindsay just rushed back and got Geoff…”

“There were AMO members in the parking lot,” Lindsay said breathlessly, dumping Ray at his desk chair. Ray sat on it backwards and slouched over the back of it. Geoff was deposited in a similar manner at his desk chair. “Waiting for us. They—they shot darts full of cures at Michael, Ray, and Ryan.”

Jack covered his mouth with a hand and glanced at Ryan. Ryan was more rattled than he was letting on, Jack could tell, but his anger was obscuring his fear. “Are…?” Jack couldn’t bear to finish the question.

Ryan scowled and gestured at Ray, who had rested his head on his chair and looked to be falling asleep (though trying desperately not to, waking back up with little jerks of his head). Each time he jerked his head, his eyes flew open as though with terror. “I didn’t get hit, thanks to Lindsay’s quick reflexes, but _Ray_ did the glowy thing again,” he said. Jack’s eyes widened in surprise, and glanced at the lad.

“Hey, it fucking worked,” Ray said, his words slurring sleepily a little. He shook his head as if to clear it. His hands were shaking, and he restlessly dry-washed them. Unnoticed by the rest of the group, his breaths were short and quick, making his exhaustion even harder to manage. “I got the drug out. Everything’s fine. Can—can I go home, I—I need…”

Jack frowned and spoke mostly to Ryan. “I don’t understand. You’re not making any sense, what _exactly_ happened?”

Geoff sighed loudly to draw attention to him. “Listen, Ray did a thing, and purged whatever it was from his and Michael’s systems. So _that’s_ not a problem anymore. But what _is_ a problem,” he continued, standing from his chair defiantly. He swayed, and allowed Jack to support him, only slightly ruining the moment. “What _is_ the fucking problem is that the AMO keeps bringing the fight to us.”

“Are you saying…?” Burnie ventured. The glint in Geoff’s eye snapped Matt to attention.

“No,” he snapped. “You _know_ the reasons why we can’t do that.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Geoff said simply. “Yes they have dirt on us, but what are we going to fucking wait for, Matt? Are we going to wait for one of _us_ to die? Michael nearly did just now. Let’s not fucking sugarcoat it.” Matt sobered immediately, glancing at the unconscious Michael on the couch. The silence in the room grew heavy. “I’m _not_ waiting to lose someone. We’re bringing the fight to them, and we’re making it public. Lindsay, get me a video camera.”

“Uhh—yes, sir,” Lindsay said. She dashed for the back room and vanished for a few minutes. She could be heard speaking to the people still in there, working. Ray was staring at Burnie, as though waiting to catch his attention, but Burnie was focused on Geoff.

Matt narrowed his eyes at Geoff. “What do you intend on doing, exactly?”

“Something I should have fucking done a long time ago.”

* * *

 

A video appeared online Friday evening. Posted by the Achievement Hunters on their Let’s Play channel, as well as on their website and twitter, it was simply titled “A Message to the AMO.” It had minimal editing in that only the ending and beginning were trimmed. The thumbnail was only a picture of Geoff’s face taken from the video itself. It was clearly quickly made.

In the video, Geoff jumped straight into talking without even a proper introduction. “This message is for any AMO members out there,” he said, a fire glinting in his eyes, a feverish energy in his sway. “Everyone else, I don’t give a fuck if you believe anything about mutants or not. This is for the group that likes to call themselves the fucking American Mutant Organization. This is for the group who likes to fucking pretend they are here to help.

“I am sick and fucking tired of fucking sneaking around. We all fucking are. We’re going public, fully public, and we’re pulling you into the fucking light, too. No more of this fucking secreting around, behind cameras, away from the public eye while a few fucking spokespersons chat it up on TV.

“It’s time for a faceoff, AMO. You do not help us. You do not fucking help us at all, whatever you might fucking claim. You say you want a fucking cure, but all I fucking see is you trying to destroy who we are, trying to make us out to be monsters. You have targeted us for the last time. You have hurt my employees for the _last—fucking—time_ , and this is me calling you out. I’m calling a fucking meeting, a showoff, whatever you want to call it. Any fucking time, any fucking place, we will be there and we will make sure your fucking organization falls apart and never reforms.”

The video ended abruptly, shutting off without even an outro. The last image seen is Geoff glaring into the camera, a wall of fanart behind him, his blue eyes intense and wild. The comment section was immediately a sea of confusion. Fans knew this mutant thing had been going on, but other than Ryan losing an eye, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Not to them. But now Geoff was enraged—not annoyed or frustrated or bored or faking anger, but fully furious. He was livid. Fans guessed that something had happened, that something had been brewing, but they didn’t know what.

A few days later, the AMO had a time and date. A conference hall in downtown Austin that Friday afternoon. The entire thing would be filmed, supplied by hired cameramen.

It was show time.


	24. They

Ray stared at the bottle of sleeping pills listlessly, his eyelids heavy. Michael was waiting for him in a car outside, prepared to take him to the conference hall, to the meeting with the AMO. His hands shook as he stored the bottle back in a cabinet in the bathroom. He had almost fallen asleep without their aid last Friday, and that frightened him still, a week later. Sure, he had pretty much willingly interacted with the celestial spheres before, but he had already been there—and at that point it was all he could do. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he got.

The spheres could kill him. They wanted to traverse the Astral Plane to get to the Earthly Plane, and they weren’t afraid to burn him up in the process. They weren’t afraid to pull him there, to whisper to him.

Ray shook his head abruptly. At least the sleeping pills worked.

Ray tugged at his green shirt as his phone buzzed with an impatient text from Michael. He couldn’t believe they were wearing this shit for the conference. Geoff had many reasons for it, one of which was that being in uniform would make a good impression. Why it couldn’t have just been shirt and tie or something, Ray couldn’t understand. It’s not like it was hard for guys to dress alike. Geoff probably had, like, five black ties, anyway.

Ray sent Michael a text back and hurried out of his apartment. He didn’t want to be the asshole who made everyone late to the party just because he was moping around. He jogged up to Michael’s car and slid into the backseat. Lindsay was riding shotgun, but she wasn’t in uniform—she wasn’t a part of the official crew here, but she and some other employees would be watching in the crowd.

“ _Michael_ ,” Ray chastised mockingly. “You’re not wearing the long sleeved shirt!”

“Oh no,” Michael said dryly. “Whatever shall I do?” In a more serious tone, he said, “I didn’t want to burn holes in the long sleeves. It would just look trashy otherwise.”

“Better than looking like a comic book nerd,” Ray grumbled. They were all supposed to wear the shirts and gloves that the unknown fan had sent in. The costume department had also gotten them matching jeans and combat boots. Of course, Ray had sometimes dressed up as his superhero alter ego, but that was _different_ , that was for conventions or charity streams. Not _this_.

“I think you guys look great,” Lindsay said with a wicked grin, twisting in her seat to look at Ray. Ray made an ugly face in return.

When the three of them made it to the conference hall, the other Achievement Hunters were already there. Their four bright green shirts clumped together were easy to spot outside of the building. Ryan was wearing his black eyepatch, and Geoff did not wear his gloves, but otherwise everyone was uniform. As they approached, Lindsay said goodbye and slipped into the building, presumably to join other Roosterteeth employees inside. Geoff wanted to huddle before entering the conference hall, however.

“You fuckers listen to me, now,” he said once he had their attention. “You leave the speaking to me. If you’re addressed, of course, you can respond without needing my permission. But leave the main fucking talking to me. If you want to add something, you tap me on the arm first, and I _might_ give you the okay.”

“Why can’t we speak?” Michael asked, crossing his arms.

“ _Because_ ,” Geoff said, “we need to have an organized argument. We won’t fucking _have_ that if we all try to say six different things. And you _could_ speak, but not fucking much. Capiche, mother fucker?”

“Sure,” Michael grumbled. No one else seemed particularly upset that they weren’t expected to talk much.

Geoff sighed heavily, prompting Jack to pat him on the shoulder. “Let’s just get this over with,” Geoff said.

The conference room had two double door entrances next to each other, and as they approached they could tell there was a sizeable crowd—enough that there were people standing in the back of the room. Inside, the chairs were set up so that there were three aisles, two small ones and a wide center one. A few cameramen were stationed strategically around the room as well, and there were two projection screens that had a live feed at the front of the room. The Achievement Hunters were let inside with a small nod from a security guard, though technically anyone was allowed in if there was room left. They went down the middle aisle, Geoff at their lead, and stopped halfway where a single microphone stand had been set up for them. At the far end of the room, at a table on a raised dais with microphones, were several AMO members.

There were two they recognized—Lily Harlow and Sheriff Lowell both had decided to show. Next to Harlow was a woman in a navy suit, her face pinched-looking and her dark hair styled short. Those three seemed to be the most important here, and everyone else looked unprepared for public speaking. These two extra people were introduced later as a couple of researchers.

“Right on time, I see,” said the suited woman, her voice amplified by her microphone.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Geoff said dryly. “Let’s get this shit started.”

“First, an introduction,” she said. “We know who you all are, but you may not know us. I am Serenity Douglas, and my partners Lily Harlow and the Sheriff Lowell. This woman here is Nova Vipond, the last man is Jason Faure. Now, I’ll let you lead, since you proposed this meeting.”

“You’re damn right I’ll fucking lead,” Geoff spat. “I want to set the record straight, and I want to do it to your face. What the hell do you think you’re doing as an organization, huh? You say you’re ‘for mutants,’ you say you’re searching for a cure—you call yourselves the ‘American Mutant Organization’ and I don’t think a single one of you or your board is a mutant!”

“What do we think we’re doing?” repeated Serenity Douglas with a raised eyebrow. She snorted. Her colleagues shared her amusement. “Our chief priority is searching for a cure. I thought you knew that.”

“That’s what you _say_ ,” Geoff said. “I sincerely doubt a true cure exists or will ever fucking exist. But the last time you tried to fucking ‘cure’ one of us…” He made air quotes. “…you almost killed someone!”

“Please clarify,” said Douglas. “I assure you we never mean to harm you mutants, and everything we do is for your benefit. And I would watch your tone.”

“I’ll show you a fucking tone,” Geoff said. “Don’t you dare fucking derail this conversation because I am rightfully pissed. I’ll calm down when you admit to the shit you do!”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Douglas calmly.

Geoff nodded at Jack, who took his cue to pull one of the darts out of his pocket. “Does this look familiar?” Geoff asked scathingly. Douglas denied all recognition, as did the other AMO members. “Well, it fucking should. It used to contain one of your so-called _cures_. Michael, why don’t you show them what you can do.”

Michael jumped, startled by the sudden address. “Oh, uh, sure,” he said. “Anyone got something they don’t care about? Like some paper, or something?” Someone in the crowd ripped out a sheet of paper from a small notebook in their purse. Michael thanked them, then held it in front of him. He considered it, then leaned forward with a shrug and lightly licked it. Geoff motioned him to hold it up to the microphone, and as he did so, the sizzling sound of acid was audible throughout the entire hall. A hole formed where he licked the paper.

“Michael here has the ability to produce acid, and necessarily has a fucking immunity. But you know what your supposed cure did last time? It suppressed his immunity before it had a chance to do anything else. You don’t know what the _fuck_ you’re doing!”

“Impossible,” said Lily Harlow, leaning forward. “He looks perfectly fine. He’s still producing acid, which says to me that he never got the cure in the first place. Even if he did, there’s no way he could have survived having literal acid in his body. You’re lying.”

“I’ll tell you how he fucking survived,” Geoff seethed. “I healed him.” He paused, and decided to bend the truth. “I healed him and healed the cure right out of him.”

“ _Impossible_ ,” Harlow repeated. “How can you heal something that is _supposed_ to heal?”

“ _That’s what I’m fucking trying to say!_ ” Geoff shouted suddenly. “These aren’t cures! There’s nothing _to_ cure, and all you’re doing is hurting us!”

“Of course there is something to cure,” said Douglas. “These mutations aren’t natural. We are merely trying to fix it.”

“And who gave you the right to do that?” Geoff hissed.

“A sense of duty,” said the sheriff. He cracked his knuckles as he talked. “You’re a dangerous, unnatural bunch. We’re trying to protect you and the innocents around you.”

“Oh, because we’re _monsters_ —”

Serenity Douglas cut Geoff’s sarcastic comment short. “Think about it. Your bearded friend there, Jack, can make people do almost anything with his words. He has the full capability of stealing innocents’ free will, and such a power could be regularly abused. Michael can produce acid, as you’ve said, and anyone could see why that is dangerous enough. The one called Ray, hiding behind you guys a little, has caused more trouble than he’s worth, and is listed as one of our most dangerous mutants. But if that’s not enough to convince you, you—Ryan—you wear an eyepatch.”

Ryan jumped at being addressed. Geoff nodded at him, and he responded, “Y-yeah?”

“Would you mind showing us and explaining why you wear one?”

Ryan glanced at Geoff, who shrugged as if to say “up to you.” Ryan sighed and reached up to remove the eyepatch. He pocketed the eyepatch and looked around the room, some of the people gasping slightly. “I, uh, have dominion over animals,” he explained.

“Was this not caused by your own ability?” continued Douglas.

“Technically,” Ryan said. “But it’s a little more complicated than that, I had a debt—”

“Would you have gotten that injury if you had not been a mutant?”

“ _Listen_ ,” snapped Ryan suddenly, annoyed at being interrupted. “The only times I have had trouble with my ability was when I’ve been forced to interact with _you_. I wouldn’t have gotten this injury if you had minded your own fucking business!”

Geoff put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, and the gent stepped back, huffing angrily. He hated that smug look on Serenity Douglas’s face, the smug look on all of their faces. Douglas took this pause to keep talking.

“Any pain you have experienced or might experience could be prevented with a cure,” she said simply. “This is why it is our chief priority.”

“Listen, lady,” Geoff said. “You treat us like _monsters_. Like we’re subhuman. You think we’re dangerous and that we’re a burden, and so you treat us as such. But I’ll fucking tell you, lady, we’re just as human as you and everyone else in this room. But if you punch a man, he will punch you back.”

“Was it not you who threw the first punch?” asked Douglas. When Geoff flubbed, she asked, “What exactly did you want from calling such a meeting?”

“I want to know your motives,” Geoff said. That question was easy enough to answer. The other… there was no way to answer it convincingly without exposing all they have done. Without explaining everything. “I want to expose your crappy methods to the public.”

“We’ve told you, it’s to find a cure…”

“Not just that,” Geoff snapped. “That can’t be the only thing. What else are you doing? Are you even fucking _doing_ anything to help mutants, or are you just concentrating on fucking suppressing them? Are you helping them deal with their mutations or are you just hoping they won’t do too much damage until you get your precious cure?”

“We provide educational facilities for any mutants in our organization. I don’t see _you_ doing anything to help,” Douglas pointed out.

Geoff drew himself up to make him seem taller. “Clearly you haven’t been looking very fucking hard. We’ve been working to get our website and our twitters mutant-friendly, to encourage people to share their experiences and give and receive advice. We’ve also started planning a place where mutants can go to feel safe and to get any help they need for their abilities. We treat mutants like _humans_. So tell me, _what are you even fucking doing_?”

Ryan frowned and tilted his head like he was listening to something. The five AMO members looked at each other, and Serenity Douglas nodded at the sheriff and the researcher sitting on the other side of him. As the researcher stood and walked off the stage, the sheriff coughed once and spoke into the microphone.

“While a cure is our top priority,” admitted Sheriff Lowell, “we do devote some time to other projects. This is because we believe in helping the greatest number of people. We study the blood samples of mutants and learn the ways it works. We translate this knowledge into devices that should make life easier or safer. Jason is getting one of our latest prototypes.”

Geoff heard Jack whisper to Ryan, “Hey, what’s bothering you?” Geoff glanced behind him to see Ryan’s face screwed up in concentration, frowning all the while. Ryan shrugged and shook his head.

“I hear something…” he muttered, but before he could continue, the researcher that had left the stage returned with a few assistants and a small wheeled table, on top of which was a boxy object underneath a tarp. On this table also was a pigeon in a birdcage, flapping around erratically and overall being clearly distressed. Ryan stilled and tensed.

<Ey!> cooed the pigeon as loud as it could. <Lemme outta here! Bruh, bruh, help me out, help a brother out, man!>

Ryan didn’t even realize that he was moving forward until Jack grabbed his arm. He leaned against Jack’s grip anyway, his eyes locked on the panicking pigeon. “Let that bird go!” Ryan demanded. He felt the bird’s distress affecting him, shortening his fuse and heightening his anxiety. “Can’t you see it’s terrified?”

“It just doesn’t know any better,” said the researcher, Jason, coolly. “It will calm down in a minute.”

“It knows it’s trapped!” Ryan shouted. He was making a scene over a common bird and he knew it, but the pigeon was freaking out. It was confused. It beat its wings against the bars of its cage, pecked and cooed, tossed small downy feathers around. “Let it go, _now!_ ”

One of the assistants ripped off the tarp with a flourish, revealing a bizarre, conflated device with a protruding keyboard input, small green screen, and a silver antenna sticking out the top of its boxy body. Jason coughed and approached the machine to stand in front of the keyboard.

“This device,” he said, his voice amplified by the microphones, “was derived from the DNA of that man there, actually.” He pointed at Ryan, who was still partially restrained by Jack and was shaking with rage. “He has the ability to control animals, as mentioned before, and we sought to make that sort of power available to everyone, or at least professionals.”

“That’s not true!” Ryan yelled.

“Ryan, shut the fuck up,” Geoff hissed. “This isn’t the time!”

“It’s not control!” Ryan continued angrily, insistently, ignoring Geoff and not allowing the researcher to talk over him. “It’s a communication. I don’t control them any more than—than a king controls his subjects!”

“ _Anyway_ ,” cut in the researcher again. “This is still a prototype, but it’s been tested a few times in a nearby lab. This can be used to calm rabid or frenzied animals, assist in training them for movies and zoos, and all sorts of related occasions. Now for our demonstration.”

He turned to the keyboard, flipped a lever switch on the side of the machine, and tapped on the keyboard. The machine hummed to life, and Ryan winced as a ringing sound shot through his ears. He jerked back in surprise, one hand flying to his ear.

“Ryan…?” Jack asked cautiously in a low voice.

Jason typed a command into the keyboard and pushed a button next to the green display screen. The sound of the machine picked up and grew louder, and the pigeon struggled and flapped even harder to get out of its small cage. It would have tipped off the table had an assistant not steadied it.

<Ey! What’s this sound!?> cooed the pigeon. <Get me outta here! It hurts!>

“It might take a minute or two,” said the researcher, completely unfazed by the pigeon’s antics. “But soon it will calm down and obey our direct input commands…”

“ _NOOO!_ ” screamed Ryan, at the top of his lungs. He buckled, clutching at his head and ears. The ringing was louder, and white hot pain lanced through his brain, seared the back of his eyes. He adopted a wordless cry as he fell to his knees, the rest of the Achievement Hunters too startled to react initially. Flashes of his dreams imprinted on his mind’s eye, snarls and lithe muscles, the scent of prey, the light crackle of leaves brushing against fur and flank. It felt like someone was gouging out his eyes. He screamed and roared and felt the tiger’s psychic fragments rise to the surface of his brain like a knife.

Geoff crouched down in front of Ryan and gripped his shoulders. “Ryan, Ryan, look at me,” he snapped. “Look at me. Focus on me.” Ryan managed to crane his neck to obey, but it seemed to cause him great effort. His once-blue eyes were tinged cat-eye gold, his pupils hugely dilated. Ryan’s gaze flicked to something behind Geoff.

“Turn it off!” Geoff suddenly screeched over his shoulder. He stood. “Turn off that machine!”

He stepped forward, but that was when Ryan shot up from the ground. He launched himself forward and shoved Geoff aside into a few seated people.

“ **Ryan, stop!** ” Jack cried, but the order slid right off of Ryan like he wasn’t even human.

Ryan bounded right for the researcher and the machine. The researcher was wide-eyed and frozen, his back to the machine as he gripped the table. Gavin sprinted up behind Ryan and leaped onto his back, hooking his arms around Ryan’s neck and attempting to drag him down. Ryan stumbled back, then twisted and sunk his teeth into Gavin’s arm, making the lad squeal. Ryan ducked and rolled Gavin over his head, caught him, and swung him around to throw him into Michael, who was coming to assist. The two lads tumbled to the ground, the wind completely knocked out of them.

Jack shouted at everyone else, ordering everyone to back up, stand up and move. He jogged around, moving people despite their shock and fear. The crowd pressed against the walls of the room, clearing the space around Ryan as he tussled with the two lads. At the back of the crowd, unnoticed, Matt put a hand on Burnie’s arm and shook his head.

Michael and Gavin’s distraction gave Ray enough time to slip to the front of the room and push the researcher aside. He grabbed for the lever switch as Jason shouted and pulled at his arms.

“Listen, dude!” Ray was yelling back, smacking his hands away. “Don’t you see the trouble was caused by _you?_ ”

A guard came up behind Ray and stabbed a stun gun in his lower back. Ray cried out and arched away from it before collapsing. The guard ordered him to back off the researcher and the prototype. Ray scooted backwards on the ground, one hand raised defensively, but the guard jabbed him again and dragged him off to the side.

Jason dove for the keyboard and managed to hit a few keys before Ryan got there and swiped him aside with a terrifying, tiger-like snarl. The researcher collided into nearby folding chairs, the seats crumpling beneath his sudden weight. Ryan grabbed the edges of the keyboard and pulled, growling and roaring with the effort, and the keyboard ripped off the machine with a metallic groan and several pops and cracks.

Geoff ran full speed into Ryan, hitting him like a football player to shove him aside, and then he bounced back and yanked on the lever switch. The machine powered down immediately, its whirring ceasing. The keyboard hung off the machine by its wires. But Ryan didn’t cease, and instead tackled Geoff around his midsection. The gents rolled on the ground, Geoff not allowing Ryan to stop moving and so potentially gain the upper hand.

Then the room seemed to slow down. A mental fog crept up on Geoff, and he could tell it was affecting Ryan too. Ryan abandoned Geoff, disentangling himself and leaping lightly to his feet. The fog made Geoff want to lie there a while. It was calming, pleasant even. A woman with deeply dyed red hair was walking down the aisle, her eyes locked on Ryan. She stepped right over Michael and Gavin, completely undaunted. Ryan paused, breathing heavily, seemingly unsure of how to proceed. She strutted right up to him, reached fearlessly up and touched the side of his face. The mental fog rolled off of her, and the more they all breathed, the less they seemed unable to focus on anything but her.

“It’s time to calm down, boy,” she said calmly. Ryan’s eyes drifted half shut and dimmed. Then he blinked rapidly, his eyes snapping back to their normal blue. His gaze roved and he stepped back from the woman as he glanced around the room, panting now for a different reason.

“Oh no,” he said, his thankfully-human eyes wide. His chest heaved with his breaths. “What hap—did I do it again?”

“There’s your proof!” screeched the sheriff, clutching at the table behind which he had ducked during the event. “These mutants are dangerous monsters!”

“Oh fuck off!” the woman shouted back. She gestured at the machine. “It was _your_ prototype that drove him mad, or are you too stupid to realize that? And if you hadn’t noticed, no one got seriously hurt—a couple bruises at worst! That was all thanks to the other mutants here. _They_ prevented innocents from injury. The _worst_ injury was when _your guard_ tazed someone!”

“Get this mutants out of here!” insisted the sheriff indignantly. “Before someone else gets hurt!”

The woman huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. It was clear they weren’t listening to her. “Don’t call pest control,” she said snidely. “We’re human and we’re perfectly capable of walking out ourselves.

She flipped her thick red hair over her shoulder and stalked out, the crowd parting for her. Ryan stared after her, in a stupor as Jack and Geoff retrieved a groaning Ray from the security guard. The guard glared at them, but allowed them to take Ray and go. Michael got up, kicked Gavin who was in a similar stupor, and put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. Ryan jumped at the touch and looked guilty.

“Sorry,” he said, his shoulders slouching.

“Not your fault,” Michael said, scowling over his shoulder. “We gotta get the fuck out of here, though. Let’s go, before they decide to physically remove us. And before that chick leaves for good.”


	25. Worried About Ray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops.

The Achievement Hunters found the woman down the block chatting with Burnie. The other employees were hanging around in tight groups as they waited for them to reappear. As the Achievement Hunters approached, Burnie jerked his chin and started moving, taking the conversation further away from the convention hall.

“Well, that went great,” Geoff grumbled. Ray was supported on his shoulder, though the lad seemed to be able to walk well enough. When Ryan meekly apologized again, Geoff snapped, “Not because of you!”

“You did the best you could,” Burnie said, patting Geoff on his free shoulder. “My guess is that some people will see only Ryan attacking the researchers, some will only see how you all prevented serious injury, and some will see both and be a little unsure of how to think.”

“Yeah, but what the fuck _was_ that?” Michael demanded, addressing the red-headed woman. She grinned at him, then winked at Gavin. Gavin tensed up and stared fixedly down at his arm, which he rubbed restlessly. Geoff had quickly and easily healed the injury, but it still felt odd knowing that Ryan had bit him. He massaged his arm where the half-moon scar replaced the wound.

“Ah,” said Burnie happily. “This little hero is Meg Turney. You know, from SourceFed? We had actually considered hiring her a while back. She flew down to see the meeting.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said, shaking her hand and avoiding her eyes. “For… whatever it was you did back there.”

Meg merely shrugged. “I do what I can,” she said.

“Which is…?” Michael prompted impatiently.

Meg chewed her lip before answering. “I refer to it as pheromone control, though I don’t think that’s wholly accurate. Still, I don’t share that information around a lot. Turns out people don’t like it when they think you’re manipulating them to like you.” She shrugged again and smiled. “But I think you guys deserve to know.”

“That’s really cool!” Gavin gushed, his cheeks tinted pink. Meg laughed again and nodded at him.

“ _Thank_ you,” she said, catching his eye and looking amused when Gavin looked at his arm again.

“That’s _great_ ,” said Ray, his voice surprisingly hard. “Can I please go home now?”

The entire group paused. “Uh, yeah, sure,” said Burnie sympathetically. He smiled warmly at Ray, who stared somewhere at his feet. “You got tazed, bro, I’m sure you’re tired.”

Geoff glanced between Ray and Burnie. He sensed that there was something else influencing the two men, but he didn’t know what. But what could he say? He made eye contact with Michael, who narrowed his eyes and shrugged. So he wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“I’ll take you home, Ray,” said Michael. “Let me just call Lindsay, she should be around here somewhere.”

“Thanks, man.”

As Michael turned away to use his phone, Burnie turned back to Meg and shook her hand. “Well, Meg, we can’t thank you enough for what you did there. I dunno what you’ll be doing now, but you’re welcome at Roosterteeth anytime.”

Meg laughed. “I gotta head back to California for now, but thank you. I’ve got to get going, but maybe I’ll see you guys around.”

“Yeah, of course. Safe travels!”

* * *

 

Miles was in the zone later that night, focusing on the Lego bricks in front of him. As he was putting the set together, he was mulling over the events of the day, as many of them were. His phone ringing made him jump, and he was even more surprised when he noticed it was Ray calling him. He couldn’t remember the last time Ray actually used his phone to _call_ someone. He picked it up.

“Hello, Ray? What’s up?”

“I’m sorry for calling you all of a sudden,” said Ray breathlessly. There was something about his voice that made Miles sit up straighter and glance around the room to make sure he was alone. Ray’s voice was pinched, like he was trying very hard to control his tone.

“Oh, of course, man,” said Miles. “It’s no problem at all, I’m just sitting at home doing nothing important. What’s bothering you?”

He heard Ray exhale heavily before continuing. “Listen, Miles, I—at the thing with AMO, I had tried to project when Ryan went all crazy. I had tried to use my ability, but it didn’t work. I’m sorry I—I just needed to tell someone.”

Miles hesitated, trying to understand what Ray was saying. “You—you tried to astral project, and you couldn’t? Well, I’m sure it was just—the adrenaline of the situation. I mean it got pretty tense there, no one would blame you if you couldn’t relax enough to project…”

“No,” said Ray quietly. “I tried it again, earlier. I could feel myself being held back, being kept whole. Miles, I—I think the sleeping pills are locking down my mind, stopping me from projecting even while I’m awake.”

Miles’s stomach dropped, and butterflies began fluttering in the space left in his gut. He hunched over in his seat, as though curling up would make the call more secretive, more secure. “Oh,” he said. “That means—man, you gotta stop taking them, then. This is a side effect we didn’t expect. It can’t be a good thing!”

Ray’s voice suddenly changed tone, becoming panicked and energetic. “No!” he said. “No, I can’t stop taking them. Miles, you haven’t dreamed what I’ve dreamed, you haven’t fucking experienced what I have in the Astral Plane!” Miles grew still and quiet. “Please don’t suggest I stop,” Ray pleaded. “They’re the only thing letting me sleep at night.”

“…You’re right,” Miles said finally in a flat voice. He had a bad taste in his mouth as he said this. “I’m sorry I even suggested it.” He hung up then, not waiting for Ray to say anything, not waiting for proper goodbyes. He stared at his phone, his mind made up but his body still doubtful. Numbly, he scrolled through his contacts and clicked on a name.

“I’m sorry, Ray,” he whispered. It was time to seek help. This was beyond what Miles could do on his own, but it required spilling secrets he had sworn to keep. Guilt twisted his stomach but he continued on. When the person on the other side picked up, he said, “Geoff. It’s about Ray. I think he needs help.”

* * *

 

That Saturday evening, as Ray was playing on his DS to pass the time, he was surprised by a knock at the door. He closed the DS and stood, but clearly he was taking too long, because a voice he recognized called through the door as his owner impatiently knocked again.

“Ray, open the fuck up,” demanded Geoff. “It’s your boss.”

“I’m coming! Jeez,” Ray replied, refusing to speed up. He leisurely opened the door and froze. He hadn’t expected to see the other main Achievement Hunters in addition to Geoff standing in the hallway. They were all serious, their faces sober in a way that made Ray’s greeting smile slip from his face. They moved past Ray as soon as he opened the door. “Um, can I help you?”

“Ray, I’m gonna be fucking blunt with you,” Geoff said. “This is an intervention.”

Ray blinked. He felt his heart begin to race, guilt prickling hotly at the back of his neck. He tried to play it cool, but his voice trembled oh so slightly. “Um… What do you mean, ha ha?”

“We know about the fucking sleeping pills,” Michael said. He stood next to Ray and shut the door forcefully, causing the handle to wrench out of Ray’s grasp.

_Play it cool, play it cool._ “Ha ha, okay, yeah, I guess I’ve been taking some. What’s the big fucking deal about that? Tons of people use them to help sleep. For like, insomnia and shit.”

“And have _you_ been taking them for insomnia?” Ryan asked. His voice seemed genuinely concerned, but his arms were crossed. Ray’s hands began to sweat, and he shoved them in his pockets. Michael was blocking the door behind him. Geoff and Ryan were staring him down. But wait, where were Gavin and Jack?

Ray had forgotten to reply. He didn’t notice until Michael put a hand on his shoulder. “Dude,” said Michael. “We want to help you out. You can talk to us. If you’ve got bad dreams, or problems with your ability…”

“Miles!” Ray suddenly cried out, startling Michael to the point where he jerked his hand away. He felt like the earth was falling away from underneath his feet. “Miles told you!”

Geoff looked guilty, and he put out his hands, palms up. “Yeah, that’s true. He—”

“That bastard!” Ray screeched. He shoved Michael away and shuffled back, his hands out and balled into fists. “I trusted him! I fucking trusted him!” He spun towards the door as if to march out to go see Miles that very moment, but then he threw up his hands and turned again when he realized that idea was not quite feasible. The result of that meant he just sort of went in a circle.

“He was worried about you!” Geoff roared. “And believe me, he didn’t really want to spill your little fucking secret, but he was worried about you and didn’t know what else to do! You have a problem and you can’t see it!”

“There is no fucking problem!” Ray shouted. “You’re invading my personal life, my fucking privacy! Get out! Get out!”

“I found them!” called Jack, emerging from the bathroom with a bottle of pills in his hand. He shook it for good measure so that the bottle rattled. Gavin, at around the same time, came out of the bedroom, caught Michael’s eye, and shook his head.

“Put those back!” Ray demanded, striding towards Jack. “Give them to me!”

He tried to push past Ryan only to feel the gent’s arms wrap around him, restraining his arms to his sides.

“We just want you to talk to us!” Ryan insisted. “We want to help you!”

“If you want to fucking help me,” Ray spat, “then you put those the fuck back. Do you want me to fucking die?”

Ryan’s arms relaxed, and Ray forced his way out of his hold. He stumbled forward, but now Geoff stood between him and Jack.

“Ray…” said Geoff softly. Everyone was quiet. Ray felt his stomach churn. He shouldn’t have said that—now they were truly worried about him. “Please talk to us. Why do you need the sleeping pills? Why do you say that you’ll die?”

Ray wanted them out of his apartment. He wanted to sleep with the aid of those drugs and fall into a dreamless slumber. He wanted to not feel fear every time he closed his eyes. His entire body began to shake. He felt drawn tight like taffy through a pulling machine, and frankly he was exhausted, but fear kept him animated. He opened his mouth to tell a half-truth. He didn’t want to tell them about the nightmares. They didn’t know about that, right?

“They keep me out of the Astral Plane while I sleep,” he admitted. His wide-eyed gaze flicked to meet Jack’s. “They keep me away from those celestial spheres. Now fucking put them back. And get out!” He looked back at Geoff. “Please let me be,” he pleaded.

Geoff shook his head. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to fucking talk about this, Ray. Miles thinks—we all think you’re too dependent on this. We’re going to sit down, and…” He missed how Ray suddenly stilled, his face going blank. He missed how his black eyes turned flat and cold as coal. And so, he missed Ray’s fist as the lad punched him right in the face.

Geoff stumbled back, his nose already buzzing with his healing ability. Ray lunged for Jack and the bottle in his hand. Jack twisted to the side and held the bottle up out of reach. He could have used his commanding ability, but he figured that this was an inappropriate time. He couldn’t take away Ray’s free will at a time like this. Michael grabbed Ray around the middle, lifted him up as he kicked, and ended up dragging both of them to the floor.

“Ray, stop it!” Michael ordered, holding him down and pinning the lad’s arms to the floor. “Fucking stop! You’re being fucking unreasonable!”

“Get out!” Ray screamed. “Get out! Get out!” His throat hurt. His eyes prickled hot with tears. He was trapped, trapped by his own friends, and he was going to have to sleep without aid of sleeping pills. He was going to have to dream. He was going to have to accidentally project to the Astral Plane. He couldn’t seem to scream anything but that phrase, and he latched on to it as his friends held him down. He screamed louder than they could talk, he screamed so that they would know his desperation.

“Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!”

* * *

 

It took all five of them to grapple with Ray, subdue him and drag him into the bedroom. Jack hid the pills somewhere (not having the heart to flush them), and the rest set themselves up around the bed. Ray lay on his back, his arms folded over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling, fuming. He had stopped struggling against them, seemingly resigned to the fact that he was trapped.

“Do you feel like talking to us yet?” Geoff asked, his voice sympathetic and soft. “Do you understand why we’re doing this?”

Ray didn’t respond.

Ryan sat on the edge of the bed, twisted around so he could look at Ray. His face was tense with concern. “Ray, I know you’re mad at us and at Miles. But please talk to us. We’re all worried about you.”

Ray didn’t respond.

Ryan sighed, and Jack put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s no use,” said Jack. “He’s not talking to us.”

Michael spoke mostly to Ray, but his words were for everyone. He leaned forward in his chair, put a hand on the mattress like he was reaching for Ray’s arm but stopped short. “We’re gonna stay here with you, Ray. We’re gonna make sure you’re okay.”

Ray didn’t respond.

The apartment was filled with heavy sighs and phone calls to loved ones saying they wouldn’t be home that night. At least one person was in Ray’s room at all times, and they stayed up in shifts. They had to make sure Ray didn’t get up to search for his pills, and they had to make sure that if he did fall asleep, he didn’t go all glowy. But he didn’t move, didn’t sleep, and didn’t talk. He just glared up at the ceiling, as though he thought maybe if he stared at a single spot for long enough, he would bore a hole in it.

He wouldn’t fall asleep without aid. He couldn’t deal with the nightmares that plagued him whenever he closed his eyes. He couldn’t deal with the Astral Plane that kept calling to him. But he knew what Gavin had been looking for earlier. A while back, a bold fan had actually palmed Ray a joint. It was a hilarious inside joke between the lads, but he hid it well and didn’t talk about it often. Michael and Gavin probably assumed he had gotten rid of it by now, since for a joke the price of getting caught with it was pretty high in Texas. Clearly they still remembered it enough to search for it, though.

Honestly, Ray had forgotten about it for a time. Gavin searching for it in his bedroom reminded him of its existence, however. Initially, he thought it ludicrous that Michael and Gavin sought to get it out of his hands, but now he considered it. It was ironic—they tried to be sneaky about it, but he wouldn’t have considered it had they not searched for it. They took his sleeping pills, but marijuana was a different drug. Maybe—maybe it would help, in the absence of the pills.

He formulated a plan in his head as he waited. His friends were using the main area of the apartment to sleep when it wasn’t their shift, leaving one person watching over him. All it would take would be for the person watching over him to doze… to fall asleep. He could outwait them. He didn’t exactly know why, but he felt far from sleep. He didn’t mind though, even though it was exhausting. He didn’t mind. He didn’t mind.

His chance came during Geoff’s shift, just about two hours past midnight. The gent clearly wanted to talk to Ray, but the instruction had been to be quiet, to let Ray try to sleep through the night. Such a rule caused Geoff to doze off, to hang his head and close his eyes just for a few minutes, it’s only for a few minutes. Ray watched him for a minute before slowly sliding off the bed, careful not to shake it too much or make too much noise. He paused as he stood, watching Geoff. Geoff was breathing deeply, his shoulders rising and falling rhythmically; he should be dozing for a little while at least.

Ray went over to his dresser and slowly pulled a drawer open. The drawer slid open smoothly, revealing the folded socks inside. With a glance at Geoff, he reached into the back of the drawer and pulled out a pair of brown socks, wadded together just so. He unfolded them, revealing the small white joint hidden inside, and that he held in his palm. He cupped it so that he could hold it loosely at his side, hiding it almost like a magic trick.

The door was the next step. The entire apartment was dark, swathed in the blue and navy blackness of night, but his eyes were used to it, and his body knew his home well. He pulled the door open a couple inches and peeked out. The shadowy shapes of his sleeping friends were scattered over the living room of his apartment, and none of them moved when he opened the door. He pushed it further open just enough to slip out, and then he padded over to the kitchen. He retrieved a match and made it to the door of the bathroom when he heard a grunt and a shifting of fabric.

“Ray…?” whispered Michael, sitting up. “What’re you doing?”

Ray’s heart was ramming in his throat, and he felt a flash of irritation. “Can a man not use a fucking bathroom?” he hissed.

Michael didn’t respond. Ray didn’t wait to see if he laid back down before entering the bathroom and locking the door behind him. He didn’t even turn on the light, though he activated the fan. His hands were shaking as he put the toilet seat cover down and sat on it. He held the joint between two trembling fingers. He plowed on ahead in his decision, shoving any doubtful thoughts aside, fear and desperation driving him forward. He glanced at the bathroom door, struck the match, and lit the joint.

He knew he wouldn’t have much time before his meddling friends would figure out what was happening. He had to steady his hand with his other. He lightly sucked on the end of the joint, inhaled the smoke quickly and greedily. His throat locked up and he coughed violently, coughed the wisps of white smoke back out of his lungs.

A light knock at his door made him jump. “You alright in there?” called Michael.

Ray coughed lightly once again. “I’m fine,” he said. “Swallowed wrong.” There was no reply as he inhaled the smoke again. He resisted the urge to cough again. It was getting easier. He could feel the drug working, he could feel himself relaxing. He did not take his time, but breathed in more smoke as soon as he breathed it out. A knock at the door again, more frantic. Pounded. The handle rattled. He exhaled slowly, let the smoke curl out of his mouth, he giggled. He felt detached, he felt giddy, lighter, relaxed. He didn’t care that Michael was fighting to get through the door. That wasn’t his problem. His problem was the sweet, sweet THC going straight from his lungs to his brain.

“Open the fucking door, Ray!” Michael demanded. “Are you smoking in there? Oh my fucking God, Ray, I’m gonna melt your fucking door.”

“Michael, wait,” came another voice. Ray thought it might have been Ryan’s, but it was quieter, calmer. There were murmurs, someone mentioned a paperclip, and then the light sound of thin metal clicking against metal. Of course. Ray giggled again. The lock on his inside doors were the simple kind that could be pushed open with a paperclip jabbed just right in the hole. All the while, Michael was babbling loudly, saying he couldn’t believe he had found it, he thought he had gotten rid of it by now. Someone shouting, Geoff? How did he get a joint, how did he get his hands on a joint! Gavin shushing him, trying to explain. The lock popped, and the door opened.

Ryan was at their head, having been the one to unlock the door, and he flipped on the light switch. The sudden light burned Ray’s retinas, and he winced and whined and flailed his hands in a half-hearted attempt to cover his eyes. Michael pushed past Ryan and snatched the joint from Ray’s fingers. He tossed it in the sink before crouching in front of Ray, fanning the smoke away from his face all the while.

“Ray, what the fuck!” Michael’s voice was hoarse, and he was loud but trying not to shout. Ray blinked rapidly, squinted, and began laughing. He reached out and touched Michael’s anxious face, squeezed and smooshed his cheek.

“Hahaha, Michael, your face is so funny.”

Michael slapped his hand away. “You’re fucking high, Ray, I can’t believe—”

Geoff stood next to Michael and grabbed at Ray’s wandering hands with a heavy sigh. “Let’s get you back to your bed, at least.” He looped an arm under one of Ray’s and tried to lift him, but Ray was completely uncooperative. He became a dead weight, and Geoff was forced to let him sink to the floor. Geoff gave up and let Ray sit on the bathroom floor mat.

“Oh,” said Ray. “Now I am small. Like Michael!”

“Bloody hell,” Gavin whispered, standing next to Jack and Ryan in the doorway. “What are we gonna do with him?”

Ryan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders slouching. “Can’t do much with the state that he’s in. We’ll have to wait until he’s down off his high.”

Ray giggled and looked up at Geoff. He reached up with both hands and turned his boss’s face towards him. He had something very important to say, as evidenced by his face turning serious and his brow furrowing in concentration. “Geoff,” he said. “Geoffrey. Your eyes are such blue. Much very blue.” He grinned again as Geoff just stared at him. “Could you get me some snacks?”

“I can’t fucking believe you right now. Are you trying to bribe me with compliments?”

“Please? Geoff, I am hungry, and you are mad at me. Did I mention you have very nice eyes? They are very blue.”

Geoff looked back at the three men in the doorway, who all shrugged, their faces drawn and tense. Geoff shook his head and stood. “I can’t fucking believe this guy,” he muttered, pushing his way between Gavin and Jack to rummage around in the kitchen. Gavin hurriedly took Geoff’s spot, he and Michael crouching in front of Ray. Ray blankly stared after Geoff, and after half a minute, he evidently decided Geoff was taking too long, because he lay down and curled up on the floor mat. As his friends watched, speechless, he promptly fell asleep.

Geoff returned with a bag of chips and merely sighed and put his face in his hand. Gavin asked, “Should we move him? He fell asleep…”

Geoff tossed the chips at Ray. The bag hit the toilet and landed near the lad’s head. “No,” he said sharply, turning and heading back into the living room. “He’s gonna fucking wake up and deal with the choices he made.”

The rest of the four men shared worried glances, and Gavin suggested, “Well at least one of us should be watching over him, right?” Everyone nodded. The four of them remained in their positions for a long while, watching Ray sleep. The smell of marijuana was still lingering in the air.

* * *

 

Ray woke up hungry and cold, with stiff joints and a bad taste in his mouth. He blinked slowly, remembering his dreams as they slipped away from his memory. They hadn’t been bad, per se, but the layer of bizarreness sugarcoated any horror he dreamed. He forgot the dreams rapidly, and didn’t dwell.

He pushed himself up on the bathroom floor mat. His head felt like it was full of water, and it took him a few moments to understand what he was seeing. He spotted the bag of chips and listlessly grabbed for it. His movement alerted Michael to his consciousness, however. Michael was sitting with his back against the wall, his legs outstretched in front of him, but he was still awake. The circles under his eyes showed how little he had slept that night, a detail that made Ray feel guilty. Ray hung his head, stared at the bag of chips now in his lap, as Michael scooted over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You feeling okay?” Michael asked in a murmur. Ray shook his head. Michael licked his lips and said, “The others are still here. Come on, let’s get out of the fucking bathroom, alright?”

Michael rose with Ray, lightly supporting the lad by keeping a hand on his lower back. The two exited the bathroom, and Ray kept his eyes glued to the ground until he was standing in the middle of his apartment. He looked up to see the other four Achievement Hunters staring at him, all with dark circles like Michael. They had been sitting at his kitchen table, though Ryan had stood and Gavin had been in the middle of getting up. Now, however, they all froze, waiting for Ray to react, to do something.

As the dawn filtered through the apartment windows, the events of last night crept into Ray’s mind. As he faced his friends, he remembered how angry he had been, how desperate, how terrified. He had done something he had never thought he was capable of doing. He had punched Geoff square in the nose and had smoked a joint like a teenager hiding from strict parents. Locking himself in the bathroom as his friends stayed up all night to try and take care of him. They had only been trying to help, and he had shoved them so aggressively away. He was beginning to realize, however, that he maybe couldn’t do this on his own. Maybe he couldn’t take care of all his problems by himself.

The bag of chips slipped from his fingers and smacked onto the floor. He drew in a quivering breath and hid his face in his hands. “Oh God,” he moaned. He hunched over where he stood, and he couldn’t help the tears that spilled over his cheek. How can he say that he was a fool? How can he make them stay now that he had rejected them? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

He jumped when he felt Michael’s arms around him, this time in a warm hug. He heard the other men move as well, and suddenly five pairs of arms were embracing him like he was a caterpillar in a cocoon.

“It’s okay, Ray,” said Geoff, whose cheek rested on the top of Ray’s head. “We’re not mad at you. It’s gonna be okay.”

Ray shook and shuddered with restrained sobs. “Help me,” he said. “Help me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't do drugs, kids.


	26. Fix You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little short. I'm a busy lass sometimes...

Ray was fully humiliated by his actions the previous night. He wished more than anything he could take it all back, rewind the tape and go down a different path. Maybe AMO was right. None of this would have happened had he not ever been a mutant. He rubbed his eyes and avoided the gazes of his five friends sitting around him. Maybe a cure wasn’t such a bad idea.

“You can’t keep taking sleeping pills,” Geoff said gently, reaching out and squeezing Ray’s knee.

Ray swallowed hard. “But…”

“Not with any regularity,” Geoff added. “We’re not gonna fucking… flush them all down the toilet. But we’re gonna sit here and talk about why you think you need them, and what you might be able to do otherwise to help that. Okay?”

Ray chewed his lip before answering. “Okay… I guess…” He glanced at each of the other Achievement Hunters, his eyes sliding over them quickly before he stared once more at his lap. He rubbed his throat absentmindedly. “Ever since we did that… that fake capture plan, so that Blaine could do his thing? I, um… Well, I keep having fucking nightmares. But it’s not just that—if it was just that, I might be able to fucking handle it,” he added angrily. Then he took a deep breath and chose his words carefully. “I feel like I’m losing control of my ability.” He felt everyone around him still and tense up. “I keep projecting into the Astral Plane in my sleep, and when I do, I am swarmed by—by these things called Nightmares. Manifestations of bad dreams and emotions in the Plane. They’re—attracted to me for some fucking reason. And then of course there’s the fucking celestial spheres, too…”

“I see…” Geoff said quietly.

A beat.

Ryan said, “And the sleeping pills… keep you out of the Astral Plane?”

“Yeah,” Ray said, meeting Ryan’s eyes. “It kept me fucking _asleep_. But I guess it’s been keeping me from projecting while I’m awake, too…”

“Who suggested this to you?” Gavin asked, leaning forward. “Chetan, or whoever your Indian friend is?”

Ray looked down again and shook his head. “No, I…” He trailed off.

“No more lies,” Jack pleaded. “Please trust us.”

Ray fingered the hem of his shirt. “I visited Dr. Lehrer in prison.” He flinched preemptively, expecting an outcry. Upon hearing none, he realized they were waiting for him to explain everything. So, he continued. “I got Miles to drive me there, and I used my power to visit her and talk to her. She—I know she hurt us, but you know I think she actually does want to help, in her own weird… kind of morally gray way. She told me that sleeping pills might lock down my mind, and, well, she was right.”

“I see,” said Geoff again.

“It was _so_ good of her to neglect to tell you of any potential negative side effects,” Michael pointed out sourly. Ray merely shrugged. He didn’t want to focus on Lehrer. That bit was complicated, and it was in the past now, anyway.

“Doesn’t Chetan project as well?” Ryan asked, deliberately steering the conversation away from the doctor. “Do you think he could help? There _has_ to be a way to help you not project in your sleep that doesn’t involve, well… you know.”

“He didn’t last time I talked to him,” said Ray.

“When was that?”

“It was…” Ray winced. “Before the crows got your eye.”

“Do you think he could have found something by now?” Jack asked. Ray shrugged.

“It’s worth a shot, I guess. I can see if he’s online.”

As Ray went to his computer, followed by Ryan and the other lads, Geoff pulled Jack aside. The two of them hung back on the couch as the others crossed the room. Geoff seemed visibly agitated now. Where he had been calm and still before, he was now constantly fidgeting with his hands, and his grip was tight on Jack’s shoulder as he leaned in close.

“Why didn’t you help last night?” Geoff asked.

Jack blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. He _had_ helped, and this was uncharacteristically… _mean_ of Geoff. What was he really asking? “What do you mean?”

“I _mean_ …” Geoff dropped his voice again, glancing over at the others several paces away. None of them had truly noticed that he had pulled Jack aside yet, or if they had they were politely giving them their privacy. “You could have stopped him from—doing fucking anything, really. Why didn’t you? We could have really fucking used your ability!”

“Oh.” Jack’s stomach dropped. He _had_ considered it last night, but… “Geoff, look. What I do, it—I take people’s free will away. I couldn’t do that to Ray when he was struggling against us. Geoff, I can’t take someone’s control over their own body away when they barely have control over anything else.”

“I don’t understand,” Geoff insisted. “You’ve done it before, you—you never seem to have any problem ordering people around, like at the conference, or when they drove us out of our homes.”

Jack shook his head and sighed heavily. “It’s different, Geoff. It—before, it was self-defense, or I was trying to protect innocent people from—from _us_.”

“But wouldn’t it be protecting _Ray_ if you had—?”

“ _No_ ,” Jack snapped. Ryan glanced over, but nevertheless continued to politely ignore them. Jack rubbed his forehead like he had a headache. “If I had—controlled Ray last night, I don’t think he would ever forgive me. And maybe those situations aren’t so different. Maybe I’m not so sure when it’s appropriate, if ever. Geoff, maybe those people from AMO are right. I have no right to take someone’s free will away.”

The look Geoff gave Jack was indecipherable. Jack’s words had clearly shocked him, and now he didn’t seem to know how to react. After a beat, he said, “You’re a good guy, Jack. Don’t listen to what the AMO says, alright? I trust you. I trust your judgment.”

A warm fuzzy feeling settled in Jack’s chest. It was nice that at least one person didn’t think him a monster. He nodded and smiled back at Geoff, a motion Geoff returned. At that moment, Ryan called back to them.

“The Indian guy’s about to video call,” he said. “If you guys want to see, anyway.”

Geoff and Jack hurried over to Ray’s computer, reaching it just as the call went through. Chetan seemed quite surprised to see so many people, and he nervously ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. But he talked mostly to Ray, and seemed to need little prompt to start speaking.

“Oh Ray,” he said. “I’ve been so stupid. I didn’t realize this until recently, because it’s how _we’ve_ always done it, so I never really realized that _you_ wouldn’t necessarily _know_.”

“Spit it out,” Ray said sharply.

“Meditation,” Chetan said breathlessly. “I had been wondering and wondering how to possibly help you when we might be actually fairly different, but you never learned to meditate like I did, or like my ancestors! I think some of your problems with control can be fixed if you learned to meditate. It probably wouldn’t fix the Nightmares’ attraction to you, or the celestial spheres’ interest, but… I think you should try it. It should help you with accidentally projecting in your sleep!”

Ray glanced at his friends around him. Was it really that simple? “Are—are you sure?” he asked slowly, in a low voice. It seemed so _fucking simple_ , after all he’d been through. He should feel happy that a potential solution was in front of him, but instead he just felt irritated.

“Of course I’m not sure,” Chetan said, raking his fingers through his hair again. “But it’s what all of the astral projectors over here do regularly. Don’t you think it’s worth a shot, at least? It’s not difficult, just find time to do it. Maybe before bed, maybe after work… Look, I’ll send you a link to a good website that has all the instructions you’ll need. Many people meditate anyway to help clear the mind, to have some control over it.”

Michael put a hand on Ray’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “It could be good to try,” he offered. “At the very least, it doesn’t require… you know. Things.”

Ray tightened his body language, drew in on himself ever so slightly. “Right,” he said finally. “I—thanks, Chetan. I’ll—I’ll give it a shot. I’m desperate enough to try anything, I think,” he admitted.

Chetan nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice this sooner,” he said. “I’m so _stupid_ for not—but I’ve been so busy, and…”

“It’s fine,” Ray said, waving his hand. “It’s not your fault. Thanks for the link.” He ended the video call and turned to face the rest of his friends, who formed a loose half circle around him and his computer. He leaned against the desk and pressed his palms into the edge. “So, uh, I guess that’s that. Um, thanks for… last night. I’m—sorry I wasn’t easier to deal with.”

“We’re all flawed human beings, Ray,” Geoff said heavily. “No one’s perfect.”

“Do you want us to stay while you try meditating?” Gavin asked. “In case you, uh, go all glowy?”

Normally that would be a question that would make Ray happy inside, but in the light of last night, he just felt guiltier. He felt like he was such a burden to his friends right now, and he felt bad for keeping them up all night while he acted like a fucking child who had their Xbox taken away for breaking a window. So, he shook his head. “You guys have done enough for me,” he said. “You should get some sleep, or something.”

“We don’t all have to leave,” Michael pointed out. “A few of us could say, or just one of us. We want to help, Ray.”

“You _have_ ,” Ray insisted. “You have. But I think—for now, I just need to be alone? Plus,” he added with a small grin, “I don’t have to make a fool of myself in front of you guys as I try to meditate for the first time.”

His friends returned the smile, their faces relaxing. “Remember,” said Jack, “you can call or text any of us at any time. If you don’t want to spend a night alone, you don’t have to.”

Ray glanced down at his feet. The day, he could deal with, but if he wasn’t ready for the next night… Having someone else there might be a good idea. Hell, he could probably call Burnie too, and utilize his nullification powers. He was sure Burnie would be willing to help out in any way possible, just like the other Achievement Hunters here. He had options again.

Suddenly, he felt arms around him, and Jack’s scratchy beard pressing into his shoulder and tickling his neck. He allowed himself to sink into the hug, letting himself relax as everyone else joined in. He felt cocooned again.

“Thanks, Jack,” Ray said. He meant it, he really did. “Everyone… Thanks.”

* * *

 

The Achievement Hunters filed out of Ray’s apartment, feet starting to drag, shoulders weighed down by exhaustion. Now that they were leaving, they all felt how truly tired they were, having anxiously stayed up all night. As they walked down the hall, Gavin nervously spoke up.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Gavin asked quietly, glancing back down the hall. “It doesn’t feel right leaving him now…”

“He’ll be okay,” Geoff said easily. “He needs a little space now, but he knows we’re available.” He turned to the rest of them. “I want this to be a lesson for everyone,” he said. “We’re here to help. We all care for each other, so you should never be too afraid or too fucking embarrassed to ask for help. Okay?”

“Noted,” said Michael. The others had similar murmurs of agreement. Michael lightly bumped his fist against Geoff’s arm. “I think we’re right,” he said. “We can fucking do this—without a cure.”

Geoff grinned in his lazy way. “That’s the spirit.”

“What’s our next step, Geoff?” asked Ryan. “I mean… what do we do now in the grand scheme of things?”

The others looked at Geoff, too, and suddenly he felt very much like a leader. Consciously, he knew he had already been one, but it had been like how it always had—they were coworkers, and he was their boss, sure, but still their friend and more or less equal. This was the first time he had truly _felt_ in command, when they turned to him and asked what’s next. And it wasn’t clear, either. This was the first time that there wasn’t an obvious path to take, a lead to follow. Geoff wasn’t sure he was prepared to take them on this next leg of the journey, but he tried to shake that thought off. He’d have help from Matt and Burnie at least, and they _were_ still all friends. It would have to be okay.

He let a faint smile cross his face as he said, “We’ll keep working on those safe spaces for other mutants. At least for now. We’ll fucking… figure things out and stuff. And if something comes up, well, we know we can deal with it.”

“Aw, nice speech, Geoff,” Gavin said with a broad stupid grin.

“Ahh, c’mere, you prick!” Geoff lunged for Gavin with the intent to noogie, causing the lad to squeal and leap out of the way and start sprinting for the exit, Geoff on his heels. The last three merely smiled, shook their heads, and followed at a leisurely pace.


	27. Headstrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've spent far too long on this chapter, and i'm not even sure I like it... =_= Hope you enjoy regardless!

“Geoff, can you come with me?”

Geoff jumped and turned in his seat, flipping his headphones off. It was the middle of the week and Burnie was, now, peeking in through the door separating Achievement Hunter from the rest of the office. His face was tense, his eyebrows drawn together, and Geoff immediately knew it to be important of the immediate variety. He nodded at the rest of the Achievement Hunters to keep working and quickly followed Burnie.

“What’s up, what’s wrong?” Geoff asked in a low voice. He stuck close to Burnie’s side as they strode down the halls. Burnie’s visible stress was beginning to rub off on him, and he felt himself growing more and more agitated.

“We’ve got a guest,” Burnie answered, mimicking Geoff’s volume. “I’ll let her do the talking here.”

Burnie approached the door of Matt’s office and swung it open. Inside, sitting across the desk from the CEO, was the red-headed lady from before—Meg, Geoff remembered. She had a nasty bruise blooming across one cheek, and many scratches on her exposed skin. Overall, she looked exhausted, with wide, shadowed eyes and a slouched back. Geoff stared at her as Burnie shut the door behind them.

“Tell him what you told me,” said Matt gently.

Meg coughed once and took a deep breath. “Geoff, everyone… I need your help.

“ _What?_ ” Geoff interrupted. “What could you possibly need our help for? Why are you here?”

“I’m getting to that,” she said calmly. “I know you—Burnie—said I would always be welcome at Roosterteeth, and I know this wasn’t really what you had in mind… I hate to ask for your help like this, but I can’t do this on my own.

“You might remember the AMO mentioning ‘educational facilities’ during your little conference. That’s where they like to put the mutants they find and brainwash them to accept their mantra that mutants are monsters and must be controlled, sedated, or cured.”

“You’re kidding…” Geoff could guess where this was going, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

Meg continued, “I’ve liberated two other facilities, closer to my home. These were small and only held one or two mutants, but I had heard of one in Texas. This one is bigger than the others. It was even bigger than I expected. From what I gather, it takes in mutants from the smaller ones like the ones I’ve liberated for the later stages of their manipulation. I… tried to get some of them out, but… it’s too much for just me. I only barely got out thanks to my ability.”

“Let me guess,” Geoff drawled. “You want us to help you fucking ‘liberate’ the facility.” Meg’s apologetic look was enough of an answer for him, even as she opened her mouth. He threw up his arms and cut her off. “Absolutely fucking not. It’s too fucking dangerous and I’m not letting my employees waltz into danger again. And what even would we fucking _do_ with the mutants once we got them out, if we even managed to fucking do that? No, we can’t help you.”

Meg stared into her lap, appearing disappointed but like she also expected that answer. Matt and Burnie, however, were calmer than Geoff.

“We’ve discussed it a little bit already,” said Matt. “If we got them out, and they don’t have anywhere else to go, we can house them at Roosterteeth until they can go elsewhere. It’s not the best solution, but we haven’t found a place for mutants to be otherwise yet, and it’ll do. Only those who want to go will go. Meg knows the layout pretty well, and has already seen the inside of the facility. We could send a small team in, slip in and out and be done.”

“I can’t fucking believe you!” Geoff said. “I’m not—I can’t let my friends get hurt again. It’s hard enough with the AMO targeting us.”

“Geoff, think about it,” said Burnie. “We have to help these people if we can. Do you really want to leave innocent people in AMO’s clutches?”

Geoff glared at Burnie and gritted his teeth. His guilty conscience was nagging at him, and he knew he couldn’t refute Burnie’s point. He crossed his arms and gave a little yell. “Ahhhhh! Fine! We can bring the issue to the other mutants here. If they want to help out, they can make their own fucking decision.”

* * *

 

Geoff returned to the Achievement Hunter office with a serious look on his face. He shut the door quietly, turning instead of letting it swing shut behind him. The rest of the men immediately took off their headphones and stared at him. Michael opened his mouth to ask what’s up, but then Geoff spoke over him.

“All Achievement Hunter mutants are to come to the conference room, right now.”

As he went to tell the editors in the other room, the Achievement Hunters looked at each other quizzically.

“What’s this about?” Gavin asked.

“Why the fuck would _we_ know?” Michael told him. But, the five of them stood, and when Geoff returned with Caleb and Lindsay in tow, he led them to the small conference room where the rest of the Roosterteeth mutants were already waiting. Miles nodded at Ray, and Kerry grinned. Oddly enough, Meg was there with a bruise across one cheek. Gavin startled when he noticed her and gripped Michael’s arm. Michael glanced at the vice grip, at his blushing friend, at Meg, and back at his friend with a wicked grin.

Matt coughed once to draw attention before his employees got out of hand. “Listen, everyone. I am very sorry to ask this of you, and I wish it wouldn’t have come to this. But Meg here has come to us for help, and we are the only ones who are able. If it didn’t involve innocents’ lives, I wouldn’t ask.”

“I’ll help!” Gavin blurted, thrusting his hand up in the air like he was raising his hand in class. Then he seemed to realize what he said and hunched up, stepping back to put himself partially behind Michael. Meg smiled sweetly at him.

“Thank you, Gavin,” Matt continued after a brief pause. “We have… a mission. It’s dangerous, and I don’t want you to do it if you have _any_ qualms. There is, apparently, a nearby AMO ‘educational facility.’ They keep mutants there against their will and brainwash them, train them to control their powers with fear. Meg had tried to rescue them, but only just barely escape.”

“Wait, so…” mused Ryan out loud. “You want us to help… rescue mutants from an educational facility?”

“It’s torture in there,” Meg said, fixing Ryan with a determined eye. “The mutants learn to fear their own abilities, to fear a part of themselves. I know how to get in and out of there, but I can’t do it alone. It was bigger than I thought it would be.”

“The mutants would stay here if they have nowhere else to go,” said Burnie. “ _If_ we get them out, of course.”

“It _is_ dangerous,” Meg said simply. “I will not sugarcoat anything. You might be risking your lives.”

A great pause.

“Well, shit,” said Michael.

“You won’t be going,” Burnie said immediately.

“ _What?_ ”

“You and Ryan and Ray. You’re too high profile. Your mere presences might elevate any tense situation beyond what we can handle.”

“I wouldn’t do it anyway,” said Ray, slouching against the wall with his arms crossed. “I, uh, I’m still not prepared to help much.” Ryan, similarly, crossed his arms and set his mouth in a hard line. But, he didn’t argue.

“She _will_ need your technopathy, Blaine,” Matt said, “if you’ll help out.”

Blaine cracked his knuckles and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll help.”

Caleb also volunteered his ability, of course. He seemed eager to help out again, after being unable to do much recently. Kerry offered to help out, suggesting that his shadow ability might help them sneak in and out. Gavin remained steadfast in his blurted decision, though he was determinedly looking away from Meg with red ears.

“Y-yeah, I’ll help,” said Miles.

Kerry glanced at him with wide, startled eyes, and Ray said, “You sure about that?”

Miles nodded, and flashed everyone a grin. “I wanna help again. I can do it.”

Burnie shifted his weight from foot to foot. “If you’re sure… Well, I don’t think we should have more people than that.”

“Sure you don’t need me?” Jack asked. “Or Geoff?”

“I think they will be fine without you,” Burnie said. “Geoff can hide out with Caleb if he wants to.”

“I will,” Geoff said sternly. “If anyone gets hurt, I want to be there.”

“Thank you all so much!” Meg said, clapping her hands. “I really do hate to be asking this of you… but I think we’ll do well! We leave tonight.”

* * *

 

Two cars drove far into the outskirts of Austin, until it could no longer rightly be called Austin. A couple of pristine white buildings loomed out of the flat landscape, looking plain and rectangular like a hospital, except that it was completely surrounded by a chain link fence with barbed wire curling across the top of it. The two cars parked on the rural side road that led to it, and the occupants communed in the empty space between them.

“The building we want is the one on the right,” Meg was saying. “That’s where they keep the mutants. I have no idea what they do in the other building, and I don’t really care to find out right now.”

“There’s not many armed personnel in there,” said Caleb, holding a small mirror. “It’s late at night, so all the mutants are in their rooms. I can’t see inside the rooms, but I can see the hall, and there’s only a couple guards at the ends of the hallways and sometimes patrolling. I don’t think they expected you to try again so soon, Meg.”

“Good,” she said firmly. She nodded sharply. “They probably thought I was too wounded or scared to return. I didn’t even make it to the cells last time, but let’s see if now is any different. We’ll give them a surprise they won’t forget.”

Just as the team of five mutants were about to move out, Geoff slapped a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and said, “Hey, everyone. Be careful in there, okay? I know Meg said they don’t use lethal weapons, but… still. Stick to the plan, but keep yourselves safe, first.”

“Yeah, of course, Geoff,” said Gavin with a tight grin that revealed his hidden nerves. “We’ll be alright.”

The five of them headed down the road as Geoff and Caleb ducked back inside their car. The four Roosterteeth mutants followed Meg closely until they neared the guardhouse at the front gate, at which point they hung back, and Kerry shrouded them in the dim shadows of the landscape so they wouldn’t be immediately noticed. The guardhouse was a small lump of a building, with a cheap shingle roof and a single man in a uniform sitting on a stool inside it, a window on each wall.

Meg strolled right up to one of the windows, and even from their distance, the others could sense the whiffs of her pheromone-like ability. She leaned on the small window ledge, propped her elbows on it and closed some of the distance between her and the guard. He seemed really intent on her as she chatted, too quietly for the others to hear. Then, Gavin spotted her wave at them behind her back, a quick motion with her hand.

“Let’s move,” Gavin whispered, and Kerry let the shadows fade away. The gate was still closed, but they hurried anyway, walking quickly towards the chain link fence. Right as they approached it, the gate rolled open, and the four of them were allowed into the courtyard unhindered. They moved off to the right, behind the guardhouse and beyond, hugging the fence as they neared the targeted building. Gavin heard Meg say her goodbyes to the guard, and she rejoined them with a jog.

“That was incredible!” Gavin informed her, keeping his voice low. The other men echoed his sentiments, and Meg smiled broadly and waved a hand.

“Nahhh,” she said taking the lead and traversing the lawn. “It’s not any more special than you guys.”

The area was not heavily guarded or on high alert by any means. The outside areas were lit up only by lights around the edge of the building over entrances and walkways and streetlights along the drivable road and parking lot on the other side of the property. This mean that the grass they crossed now was poorly lit, and the five of them would not be quickly identifiable. All they had to do was not act suspicious. It was still stressful, though, and Gavin’s muscles were tight all across his shoulders. He could see his friends’ tense expressions as well, as they constantly shot each other quick glances.

They reached a windowless steel door with a touchscreen keypad set in the wall next to it. The door was near the edge of the building, though still in the front side. No one had noticed them so far, not more than a cursory glance. This place seemed a lot more casual than the previous places. Or at the very least, Gavin reasoned, the guards weren’t in tune with the schedule of other workers—if a person is inside, they’re probably supposed to be.

Meg put her back to the door to face the other four. “Blaine, I’ll need you to get us in the door.” She put a finger to her earpiece. “Caleb, can you see on the other side of this wall? Is anyone there?”

“No one’s there,” reported Caleb, “but there is a security camera. Kerry should darken that as soon as possible, but that might tip them off to your presence, and it means I won’t be much help. Be quick.”

The others looked to Meg, who made eye contact with everyone and nodded sharply. They stood to the side of the door as Blaine rested his fingertips on the keypad. He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, a small light shone green and a distinctive _click_ was heard as the door unlocked. Meg yanked the door opened, and Kerry immediately flicked his wrist, coating the ceiling in thick, impenetrable shadows.

Then, they were in.

The door opened into a long white hallway normally lit by strips of fluorescent lightbulbs in the ceiling, but Kerry’s shadows blocked out the light for the most part, making it dim. Miles took the lead with Meg, allowing his skin to glow with a soft shimmer and provide more light. There were a few off-white painted doors set in the wall, but they all seemed to be offices, with name plaques on the doors and no windows to see what was inside.

The hall formed a T at the end, two hallways leading off to the left and right. “Last time I went left, and that leads to some sort of reception area,” Meg informed them, turning down to the right. “That’s where I ran into trouble, obviously, but this way should lead us to the cells without running into as many people.” This hallway had more doors, more offices, though some of these had broad windows set into the wall. Kerry kept the shadows moving across the ceiling, but as they approached windows, Miles would dim his glow, and everyone would duck down and crouch-run underneath the windows.

They were halfway down this hallway, heading towards a sign painted on the wall that informed them that the holding cells were off to the left, amongst other things they didn’t care about, when a man in a crisp white collared shirt and argyle tie stepped out of his office. He spotted the five of them and jumped, taking a step back.

“Hey!” he cried. “What’s going on here? Who are you?”

“Kerry!” Gavin snapped, grabbing Meg’s and Blaine’s hands. Kerry flicked a hand, and the entire hallway went pitch black. “Everyone hold hands,” he whispered, and began moving forward with the aid of his echolocation. The soundwaves bounced back to him showed him the man stumbling for the wall, patting it and searching for the door. Gavin turned his head back to make sure everyone was following, and upon confirming this, reached the end of this hallway and turned left, where the sign had pointed for the holding cells.

“You’re almost there!” Caleb told them over their earpieces. “Someone is alerting security to your presence, though. Hurry!”

“Working on it,” Kerry reported dryly, lifting his shadows slightly.

They jogged down the hallway and skidded to a stop in front of a pair of double doors with porthole-style windows. The sign next to it labeled it as “Holding Cells.” Meg immediately pushed her way through the doors, the others hot on her heels, and the other side was so much like an eerie prison that they stopped in shock.

The doors opened into a small office room with a single door across from it as well as a window that took up nearly the rest of the opposite wall. To the right, positioned so that the guard there could look out the window, was a desk with a computer and a complicated switchboard on top of it. Out the window was a long sterile hallway with blank white walls and no visible exit. The doors lining both sides had no visible handles, and blended nearly perfectly into the walls, save for the round dark windows and the indents they made. Each door had a keypad and swipe mechanism next to it. Additionally, there was a single balcony on one side of the hall with a second floor of holding cells.

The guard stationed at the desk leapt out of his chair, his hand flitting to his hip. Miles shrieked and flung out his hands towards the security guard, and two bright beams of light shot out of his palms and hit the man in the face. The man stumbled back with a cry, his hands now covering his blinded eyes. Blaine jumped forward and punched him in the face, sending the man crashing to the floor.

Meg swept forward, grabbed the pair of handcuffs clipped to the guard’s belt, and swiftly cuffed him to the leg of the desk with his hands behind his back. “Let’s move,” she said. “Blaine, see if there’s a ‘release-all’ mechanism. Miles, Kerry, you stay here and watch for people, and make sure our friend here doesn’t try anything. Gavin, let’s see if we can’t force some of these doors open.”

“Right,” the men chorused, and Gavin and Meg went through the single door and quickly approached the first cell.

“It’s too dark,” Gavin said, peeking through the window as Meg examined the door’s edges. She pushed her palms against it, experimentally pushing, pulling at the handless door. Caleb echoed Gavin’s statement, saying that he couldn’t see anything either.

“These seem to be sliding doors, too,” Meg said, slapping the door in frustration. “Probably reinforced to keep mutants in. There’s no way we can force these open.”

“Do you want me to try vibrating them off with my ability?” Gavin asked.

Meg shook her head, but smiled at him. “Probably wouldn’t work.”

“Bad news,” Blaine said over the earpieces. “There’s nothing here that will open all the doors at once—only stuff to lock them all. We’ll have to go through individually, and there’s no way to tell which ones are occupied.”

“Well then get out here!” Meg snapped. “We don’t have time to…”

“Hey!” cried a voice. “Help us!” Gavin and Meg looked down the hall, where a tall man with broad shoulders, short brown hair, and the biggest, bluest eyes stood—if it could be called standing. His legs faded out before they reached the ground. In fact, the image seemed strangely blurry, and every few seconds it would fade alarmingly before snapping back into solid color. He wore loose white pants and a crisp white scrub-like shirt. They heard a banging from down the hall as well. “In here, in this cell! Please get us out! Help us!”

Blaine joined them as Gavin and Meg jogged towards the stranger. “We’re here,” Meg said. “Calm down, we’ll—”

The man didn’t seem to hear them, or even see them, but rather continued looking down the hallway. He pointed towards one of the holding cells, where the banging seemed to be originating from. “Please! Get us out!”

As soon as they approached the cell in question, the image of the man disappeared. Gavin noticed the same man was pressing his face against the window, his face heavily shadowed and only illuminated dimly by the hallway light. Blaine put his hand on the keypad and furrowed his brow in concentration.

“We’re getting you out,” Gavin said loudly to the man. “We’ll get you to safety…”

“Bad news,” Caleb radioed. “Guards are coming. They’re almost there.”

Miles and Kerry slipped out of the office door and jammed a chair against it, hopefully sealing the holding cells off from the other side. Kerry then made the office as dark as can be as he and Miles crouched by the door. Miles flailed his hands at the others, gesturing at them to hurry the fuck up.

The keypad made a buzzing sound, and Blaine jumped back. The door slid open, revealing the man standing behind it, this time with complete legs. Light spilled into the holding cell now, and behind the man, Gavin could see a basic bunk bed made of white metal, set into the wall. He couldn’t see the rest of the cell, but a deep cold spilled out of the room, intense enough to rifle Gavin’s hair.

“We have to get moving,” Meg said urgently, waving her hand at the man. “Guards are coming. If you want to leave this place, come with us now. Are there any other mutants?”

“What is your name?” Gavin asked.

“James,” said the man. “It’s just me and Adam in this cell, but all the other people here are too far gone, too brainwashed to leave. But please,” he begged, stepping forward and clasping Gavin’s hands, “before it’s too late for him, get Adam out of here!”


	28. Hypnotize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I would wait a little while longer before posting this chapter, but honestly I wrote it so quickly and I'm so re-energized that I just had to post it. Consider it a late Thanksgiving gift. Love you all, and please enjoy! <3

“You don’t have time to get the others,” Geoff hissed through the earpieces. “If this James is right and the other mutants held here are too heavily brainwashed to leave by choice, you gotta fucking leave them. Get James and his friend and get out!”

James stepped aside, and Gavin strode into the holding cell. It was even colder on the inside, absolutely freezing. He could feel the air conditioning blowing on his skin, and he shivered. The rest of the room was unbearably simple and bland, with a single toilet and sink in one corner, and a white metal stool in the other, bolted to the floor. Wedged next to this stool was another dark-haired man, wearing the same white uniform as James, hunched over and hugging his knees, his forehead pressed against the wall.

Gavin glanced back at James, who nodded briskly, his eyes permanently wide and startled. Meg and Blaine waited at the entrance, shifting nervously and constantly looking towards the office door, where Miles and Kerry were stationed now. Any second now, guards would arrive and start forcing their way through. Worse yet, it was apparently their only way out. This place with the holding cells apparently only had one exit. Fear built in Gavin’s throat, but he swallowed hard. He couldn’t be scared now, not when he had a job to do.

Gavin slowly approached Adam, reached out a cautious hand. “Adam?” he said gently. He lightly tapped the man’s shoulder. “We’ve come to get you out of here.”

Adam flinched and jerked away from Gavin’s touch, his head whipping around to stare horrified at Gavin. Gavin could see that, in addition to his dark hair, he also sported a short brown beard. “N-no,” he stuttered breathlessly. “Don’t—touch me!”

“You won’t hurt them, Adam,” James said patiently, appearing at Gavin’s shoulder. “We’re gonna get you out of here. Don’t you want to leave this place with me?”

Adam shook his head, pressed his palms into his temples as he stared at the wall again. “No!” he said again. “I can’t leave, I’ll just—hurt people. This place keeps me away from innocent people…”

“You gotta go!” Caleb insisted. “Now!”

“Leave him!” ordered Geoff. Gavin winced at the volume of his boss’s voice in his ear.

“We’ve got incoming,” Meg said into the holding cell. Gavin heard a loud bang and the sound of a door rattling, as well as Kerry’s and Miles’s startled squeaks. The guards were at the office door. “Get him out of there!

Gavin chewed his lip. James was looking at him with a pleading expression, his eyebrows drawn up and together, his face tense. It was clear that Adam was his friend, but… if Adam refused to move, then they’d have to leave them behind or else risk getting caught themselves. But he couldn’t leave such a pitiful creature behind. Not when they were so close, not when James was begging him.

“Fine,” said Gavin suddenly. He had made his decision. “James, help me carry your friend. There’s no time to argue with him. If he won’t bloody move, we’ll move him ourselves.”

Gavin stepped forward, and James matched his movements. Mirroring each other, they bent down and looped an arm under both of Adam’s, hoisting him up and tugging him towards the door as he squirmed and kicked.

“Leave me!” Adam demanded. “I can’t go outside!”

“Yes you can!” Gavin grunted. With his and James’s combined efforts, they dragged Adam out into the hall. Just as they left the freezing room, there came a muted triumphant shout—muted by the wall separating them—from the office, and the holding cell door buzzed again and slid shut with a loud slam. Gavin and James finally lost their grip on Adam and dropped him to the floor, where Meg crouched in front of him and grabbed for his face. Gavin smelled the familiar heady aroma of Meg’s pheromone-like ability. Adam breathed heavily, his face twisted in confusion as he stared back at her.

“Adam, listen to me,” Meg said in a low voice. “You need to calm down. This place is hurting you and your friend, and we’re here to rescue you. You will be safe, we’re going to help you, but you need to cooperate.”

The office door banged and shook. The window shattered as someone on the other side swung a stool into it. Miles and Kerry shrieked and darted down the hallway, joining the relative safety of their friends. Kerry’s break in concentration lessened the shadows in the office, and they could see several figures moving around in the room. Oh no. Gavin’s legs began to tremble, and he felt a little dizzy. They had taken too long. They hadn’t been careful enough. They were trapped. They were going to die, or get taken, and he wasn’t sure which was worse.

The stool was tossed through the window, where it skittered and clanked against the tiled floor. Gavin and the others were clumped together about halfway down this broad hallway, broad enough for four or five people to stand shoulder to shoulder. Meg stood, and Blaine took her spot crouching next to Adam, and she and Gavin stood near the front of the ground, everyone else slightly behind them, all shielding Adam and now Blaine.

“What do we do?” Miles whispered, one hand gripping Kerry’s arm. “What’s the plan?”

“I—I don’t know,” Gavin whispered back.

A guard, lanky and dressed in black with a bulletproof vest and sandy hair, vaulted through the now-broken window, a black pistol in his free hand, and landed solidly on the other side. He pointed the gun at the mutants, glanced to the side, and kicked the chair holding the door closed. The chair fell easily, and the door burst open, four more similarly dressed men spilling out. One other held a pistol, two of them held what looked like dart guns, and the last had a Taser out and ready.

Meg raised her hands as if to surrender and began approaching them, but Gavin could tell she was working her ability, pheromones rolling off her in a dense fog. He was glad she was walking _away_ from him, frankly, or else he wouldn’t have been able to think straight for very long.

“Let’s not be too hasty here,” she said with a laugh and a smile. “We won’t cause any trouble here, if you just let us go now…”

Four of the men lowered their guns, their eyes hazing over as they stared at Meg. The sandy haired man, standing in front of the rest of them, was completely unfazed, though. He growled at her and when she got close, he whipped out his hand with the pistol and attempted to strike her across the cheek. Meg saw the movement and ducked back as fast as she could, stumbling back as she did so and falling to the ground.

As she scooted back, the sandy haired guard hissed, “Don’t think your tricks will work on me, mutant bitch.” He smacked the nearest guard upside the head and said, “Snap out of it, men. Jesus fucking Christ, you’re all useless.” Gavin darted forward protectively, reaching out to Meg to help her up as Sandy Hair raised his gun again. The two of them stood in front of the other mutants, and Gavin didn’t even notice that he kept his hand on Meg’s shoulder. His throat seemed too tight to breathe.

“The way I see it,” drawled Sandy Hair as the other guards shook their heads and cleared their minds of Meg’s pheromone-like ability. “You have two choices. You cooperate, hang out in some of these cells, and hand over Willems and Kovic. Or, you resist, and if you get seriously hurt or killed, well it was only self-defense, and you were trespassing after all.”

Gavin couldn’t seem to move his body at all. He didn’t want to be captured again. Why did he volunteer to go on this mission!? He couldn’t be caught again. He couldn’t be subjugated to… to restraint, to brainwashing. No one else was talking, either. They were just staring at each other, guards versus mutants.

The radio crackled in Gavin’s ear. “Gavin. _Gavin!_ Fucking _Christ_ , Gavin, snap out of it and listen to me.” It was Geoff. Gavin blinked rapidly, his eyes focusing again on the scene around him. “You can get out of this, just do as I say. I have a plan.”

“ _Well?_ ” prompted Sandy Hair. He cocked his gun and gestured it at James, who averted his gaze towards the guard’s feet. “That’s right, Willems. Don’t you look at us.”

“Pretend to surrender,” Geoff said, speaking fast. “When they get close, you and Miles do your thing. Unbalance them. You can probably push through them when they’re confused. I’ll give the word, just do it!”

“We surrender!” Gavin blurted. He acted robotically, his hands jerking up above his head as he kneeled. He heard James gasp quietly, and take a step back. Adam started muttering, “no, no, no,” but Blaine squeezed his shoulder and tried to shush him. The other mutants raised their hands too, slowly sinking to their knees.

“We’re clearly trapped here,” Miles supplied, nerves making him talk quickly. “You win. Please don’t hurt us—we’ll cooperate!”

Sandy Hair kept his gun raised, but he stomped his way forward, the other four guards close on his heels. James had started to back away, but stopped when the guards approached. Gavin drew in a large breath and waited. Metal chains jingled as a few of the guards pulled out handcuffs.

“ _Now!_ ”

Gavin jerked his head up and started to scream a high-pitched scream. At the same time, Miles flicked his hands and aimed two bright beams of light at two of the guards—Sandy Hair and the next closest man, a guy with a large hooked nose and greasy brown hair. The light was so bright that just glancing at it burned a hole into Gavin’s vision. He blinked rapidly, and focused on producing his unbalancing soundwaves.

The men hit by the beam stumbled back, and the rest clamped their hands over their ears and wobbled dangerously, ducking down. Gavin shot to his feet and was about to tackle the guard with the hooked nose when James suddenly bull rushed that guard, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The guard fought blindly, but as Gavin watched, his shrieks caught in his throat from surprise, James straddled him and grabbed at the man’s wrists, glaring down at him. Faint images flickered across James’s bright blue eyes like a film reel projector. The guard’s eyes bugged out and became unfocused. Hooked Nose shook his head, his mouth falling open with the beginning of strangled screams that just wouldn’t quite come out.

“Let’s move!” Meg urged. “Come on!”

Gavin shook his head to clear it and glanced back at Adam. Blaine had pulled Adam to his feet, despite his frightened protests. Meg, Kerry, and Miles charged forward through the guards, shoving them aside and racing for the office door. One of the guards was pushed into the wall, where he regained his balance. Gavin bit his lip and made a split second decision to help Blaine, striding back to grab for Adam’s other arm.

James bounced to his feet and turned towards Adam, but Sandy Hair had recovered and whipped his pistol across his jaw. James’s head snapped to the side, and he fell, rolling into the wall with a sharp cry of pain. Gavin skidded to a halt, and he noticed the others do the same. Adam froze next to Blaine, his eyes going wide. Sandy Hair kicked at Hooked Nose in the side, just hard enough to make the man go _oof_ , before he stood over James and pointed the gun at his head.

“It’s an illusion, man,” he told Hooked Nose. “Come off it, it ain’t real.” He rolled his neck and glared over at Gavin as James cowered underneath him, one hand rubbing at his jaw, the other raised defensively over his head. The last three guards pointed their weapons at Meg and the others at the other end of the hallway. Hooked Nose groaned and muttered “it’s not real, it’s not real.” “This ends now. Backup is on its way, so really it’s in your best interest to actually surrender this time. If any of you pull a trick like that again, this bullet is going through some heads. I don’t care much which ones. It’s your choice.”

Gavin shivered, and he suddenly realized how cold it had gotten. He let out a puff of breath, and the air condensed into a wisp of white vapor almost immediately. His eyes flicked down to see frost starting to spread across the tiled floor in small, delicate snowflake patterns. But, strangely, heat seemed to be emanating from Adam, lifting off his skin in waves. Adam tensed up, but Gavin kept his eyes on the guard with the sandy hair.

“Let—let’s not be hasty here,” Gavin said.

“You, shut up!” Sandy Hair snapped, jerking his gun up to point it at Gavin. “I know who you are. The sonic mutant from Roosterteeth. If you open your mouth again, this bullet goes through _you_.”

On the last word, Adam leapt forward faster than Gavin had seen any man move before. He pushed off the ground so hard that the tile cracked, and he practically flew forward, one arm drawn back. The guard instinctively pulled the trigger, and Gavin flinched and squawked, but the bullet missed and lodged itself harmlessly in the wall somewhere. Adam punched Sandy Hair square in the chest, and the guard sailed through the air to collide with two other guards standing behind him.

Gavin heard Blaine mutter a single “woah” under his breath. The three guards skidded forward several feet with the force of Sandy Hair crashing into them. Meg’s eyes went wide. The guard with the hooked nose had recovered by now, and he rolled over and started to push himself to his feet. Adam kicked Hooked Nose into the next wall hard enough to dent it.

The last standing guard had spun around to point a dart gun at Adam when Sandy Hair sailed through the air, but Adam didn’t see him. James, however, did, and flung out his hand.

“No you don’t!” James snapped. Faint images once more flickered across his irises, and the last standing guard’s eyes became unfocused. He started to scream, and he pointed his dart gun up as though something was towering over him and shot it, sending a dart pinging into the second floor balcony, where it bounced and spiraled to the floor. Then, he bolted for the exit.

“Bad news,” said Caleb through the earpieces. “More guards are coming. If you go out the way you came in, you’ll be overwhelmed in seconds.”

Adam was breathing heavily, and as Gavin remained absolutely stunned by the feats of strength, Adam clamped James’s outstretched hand and hoisted him up. He lightly touched James’s shoulder, as if to make sure the man was alright. A red and purple bruise was starting to bloom along his jaw, but otherwise he was physically unharmed.

“Thanks, man,” James said softly.

“I will hurt anyone who even _tries_ to hurt you,” Adam growled. Gavin shivered.

“That was incredible!” Blaine said to Adam, his smile broad and his eyes shining with awe. Blaine thumped Gavin on the shoulder, jolting him out of his shellshock. Meg, Miles, and Kerry had heard Caleb’s message and jogged back down the hallway to rejoin them.

“We’ll be in trouble if we go out through the office,” Meg told James. “We’d be swarmed by guards. Can your friend help us escape?”

James chewed his lips and looked at Adam, who was staring back at him, shivering, with a mournful expression. “Well, Adam?” he asked in a gentle voice. “Are you ready to leave, finally?”

Adam glanced at the groaning guards, some who seemed to be struggling to move, some who didn’t seem to be moving at all. There was a tired slouch to his shoulders, a stillness in his limbs that hinted at a creeping exhaustion, an approaching muddled haze. But his eyes seemed to have an intense sparkle that hadn’t been there before. He looked back at Gavin. “Will you help me?” he asked quietly. “Once we’re outside? Will you—help me—us—control this—this…”

“Yes,” Gavin said firmly. “That’s why we’re here.”

Adam’s face broke into a grin for the first time, crinkling his eyes and relaxing his entire features. He balled his hands into fists and nodded at the end of the hallway, the blank wall that designated the dead end. “We’ll take the back exit.”

“ _Hurry_ ,” Miles insisted, shoving Kerry ahead of him and wasting no time moving once the plan had been decided. Gavin noticed now that Kerry looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a slouch to his shoulders. He _had_ been using his ability a lot. Miles, too, seemed to be moving clumsier than usual. The faster they got out, the better.

The seven of them approached the back wall, the same slick white as the rest of the hallway. Adam splayed his palm across its surface and glared at it. Gavin could _hear_ the small crackle of cold as frost spread across the wall. He was standing close enough to Adam to feel him heat up once more. James was directly on the other side of Adam, watching his friend closely.

“What’s he doing, exactly?” Gavin asked, looking cautiously back towards the office, and the guards still on the ground.

James glanced at him briefly before returning his gaze to Adam. “Well, this place described his ability as absorbing energy from objects—freezing them, sometimes—and transferring that into physical strength for a short time.”

“Matt can look at him later,” Blaine said helpfully. “He and Burnie are still at Roosterteeth, waiting for us.”

“Who?” James asked.

“You’ll meet them soon,” Gavin said quickly. “We have to get out of here first.”

“Ready,” Adam said. “Stand back.”

Adam drew back a fist, and with a mighty grunt slammed it through the wall. The wall, turned brittle by the cold, cracked and shattered into enormous pieces. Instead of merely punching a hand-sized hole through the wall, large jagged chunks caved in around his hot fist, and a good amount of wall crunched outwards, landing in dark grass with a small cloud of dust. The hole created was large enough for someone to hop through easily, revealing the night outside. The lawn stretched forth, barely illuminated by nearby lights, the chain link fence with the barbed wire curling across the top dark as a shadow several paces away. Gavin guessed it was only about twenty yards away.

Already, Gavin could hear shouts of people outside—more guards, probably. He opened his mouth to speak, to get people moving, to ask Adam to break the fence as well so they could get out, when Adam slumped suddenly, his entire body falling limp. James and Blaine, the nearest two, lunged for him, grabbing him and supporting him back up. Gavin’s stomach leaped into his throat. Adam couldn’t fall now, not now, when they were almost out, when they still needed him.

His head lolled as he slurred breathlessly, “Sorry… I’m just… tired…”

“It’s okay, Adam,” James muttered. “You’re doing great.”

“We gotta move,” Blaine declared, shifting Adam and pulling one of his arms across his back. “Give him to me, I’ll carry him out.”

“Before the guards come,” Gavin reminded them. As Blaine situated Adam on his back, Gavin slipped through the hole in the wall with the others on his heels. He sprinted for the fence, no new plan on his mind. His brain scrambled for ideas, but he thought if he got to the edge, somehow, they could all get out.

He skidded to a stop, Meg and Kerry stopping next to him. In front of him was a guard, dark and intimidating, who raised his weapon—he couldn’t see what kind, what it would do—and he very nearly panicked. They were almost out, and this was how it would end. He barely noticed Kerry adjust his stance.

“I got this,” Kerry whispered. Then he drew in a deep breath through his nose and flung his hands out. Darkness descended upon the lawn, shadows encasing the guard, the buildings, the fence, everything except for a pool of light surrounding the seven mutants. Kerry swayed dangerously, but he kept his footing, his face glowing with a sheen of sweat. People, guards, cried out in the darkness, unsure of where to go, what to do. Almost by instinct, Gavin let tiny soundwaves click and emit from his throat, echoes bouncing back to him. The guards were confused, standing and stumbling in place, trying to see their hands in front of their faces, but there were more coming. Kerry couldn’t keep this up forever, not with such density, not with such scope.

“Nice save,” Geoff said sharply through the earpieces. “But we can’t help you when everything’s fucking dark! Hurry up and get out of there!”

Meg turned on her heel and drew close to Blaine and Adam, making the former jump slightly. “Adam,” she said. “I know you’re tired, but we need you to break the fence. Just one last thing. Can you do this?” Adam stared at her with drooping eyes, blinked slowly. “This is life or death, Adam.”

Adam gave a jerky nod. Meg smiled sweetly at him then turned back. She held out her hand to Gavin. “Lead us to the fence,” she said.

Gavin felt his cheeks heat up despite himself. He took Meg’s hand, put his other hand on Kerry’s shoulder, and marched confidently into the shadows. The fence was clear to him, close by, and there was a straight path they could take that was clear of guards. He walked quickly, leading this little train of mutants across a pitch black lawn.

A few long seconds later, Gavin was in front of the fence, practically pressing his face against it. “Stop,” he whispered. He saw Blaine reach out for the fence, and upon linking his fingers against the metal, shifted and let Adam slide off his back so he was standing again.

“I’m sorry,” Kerry gasped, and the shadows wavered, thinned. “I can’t—keep this up.” Miles patted him on the shoulder, but glanced back over the lawn with a tense expression. Recovering guards scanned the lifting shadows, and the nearest one spotted the dark shapes near the fence and raised a cry. Gavin steeled himself, his heart beating hard. If he had to shriek, then he’d do it. He remembered the ear-piercing shriek back at the warehouse, the ringing eardrums, the burning scratching throat. He wasn’t fond of the after effects. He sensed Miles tensing up beside him as well.

But then James stepped forward. As Adam hooked both hands onto the fence and leaned on it heavily, James stood solidly, thrust his arms out to the side like he was trying to protect all of them with his body.

“You will not stop us now,” he seethed. “You will not take us back.”

A smokescreen rose up in front of him, billowed up from the grass in thick plumes and clouds and stretched, faded high into the sky. Tall, inhuman shadows flitted in the gray smoke, tall lanky beings, large broad humanoids. Glimpses, just glimpses of long curling claws, of glinting yellow eyes, appearing and disappearing in the thick, thick gray. Gavin’s throat closed for the fear. The smoke curled, breathed. Guards started shrieking. Guns went off in sharp loud pops.

The metal chains crumbled underneath Adam’s touch. He tore and kicked at the fence, ripped a hole large enough to squeeze through, and lumbered through it. Blaine was through in an instant to support him again as Adam wobbled and threatened to faint. Kerry was out, glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes, and Blaine once more hoisted Adam onto his back. Miles grabbed at Gavin’s shoulder, and Gavin wrenched his gaze away from the terrifying smokescreen. He tapped James on the shoulder, and the mutant started backing up but kept his eyes on the smokescreen.

“Time to go,” Gavin said, and Geoff echoed his sentiments in his ear. He and Meg guided James backwards through the hole in the fence, and as soon as he was through, he jerked his head with a wince and a small “Ah,” his hand flitting to his temple. The smokescreen disappeared in an instant, leaving the guards confused. But, they were on the other side of the fence. The seven mutants fled, ran off into the Texas night before anyone could follow. A few gunshots rang out, but were soon silenced. Flashlights swept the property and the surrounding areas, but the mutants were far enough away that they were quickly lost.

“Oh my God,” Miles squeaked around gasps, jogging with the others through the night. “We—we’re out, haha! Surprised there’s no police yet…”

“There wouldn’t be,” Meg said. “These places are… _privately_ funded. Wouldn’t want to get the police or the government involved.”

“What _was_ that back there, James?” Gavin finally choked out. “With the—the bloody _smoke_ and stuff?”

James tapped his temple, his wide blue eyes fixed on Gavin. “Illusions, my man. It’s all an illusion. Believe it, and you’re trapped.” He gazed mournfully over at Adam, who was a dead weight on Blaine’s back, his eyes closed. If he wasn’t passed out now, he would be soon. “Sometimes… They’d sedate him most nights, but sometimes it wasn’t enough.”

Gavin fell silent then. The cool air was palpable.

They slowed to a walk as they approached the two cars parked on the road a ways away from the AMO buildings. Geoff was a shadowy figure pacing rapidly in front of one of the cars, and when he saw them approach, he sprinted towards them and practically threw himself on Gavin. Caleb exited one of the cars with a relieved sigh, his mirror abandoned on the seat and weariness lining his eyes.

“Holy fucking dicks, dude,” Geoff said. “That was the most stressful time of my life.”

“Sure Geoff,” Gavin managed. Geoff was squeezing him pretty hard. He wasn’t sure how the stress level measured up against other… recent events, but Geoff sure was prone to exaggerating. “But—we should go before they expand their search to here.”

Blaine had already opened one of Geoff’s car doors and was gently coaxing a barely-conscious Adam into the backseat. Geoff seemed to notice the two new mutants for the first time and let Gavin go.

“This is James and Adam?” he asked. The others nodded. “No one’s seriously hurt?” They shook their heads. Just exhausted. Geoff let out a little huff and ran a hand through his already mussed up hair. “Alright, let’s get back to Roosterteeth, then. Good work, everyone.”

James climbed into the car next to Adam and let the other mutant rest his head on his shoulder. Gavin took the last space in Geoff’s backseat in time to hear James mutter, “You did good. We’re safe now.”


	29. Whispers in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates! Other priorities have been demanding my attention. Including my two active fics, I've got at least five writing projects demanding my attention. Wow! But really, thank you so much for your support and patience so far (●´□`)♡

The two cars wheeled carefully into the Roosterteeth parking lot, lit only by lanterns hung over some of the entrances. Five figures huddled under one door, the light casting odd shadows that misshaped the faces of Burnie, Matt, Jack, Michael, and Lindsay. Geoff parked his car in a space near the door and saw out of the corner of his eye James nudge Adam awake. The five of them slid out of the car and joined the other car’s occupants at the door. Burnie held out a small pile of folded clothes to the two new mutants.

“You two must be James and Adam,” Burnie greeted.

“And you’re Burnie Burns,” Adam said. It was the first thing Geoff had ever heard him say.

Burnie smiled. “Yup, that’s right. Miles called and thought you might want a change of clothes.” Geoff glanced at Miles, who meekly shrugged and looked away. “It’s not much, just some t-shirts and pajama pants we had lying around, but it’s probably better than… well, you know.”

Adam made a sound akin to a snort, but James took the bundle and flashed a smile. “These already seem better than these cheap-ass scrubs. Who are you all again?”

Burnie grinned warmly and gestured to the group in front of him, inviting them inside. “Matt and I are also mutants. I can negate mutant abilities.”

“ _Negate?_ ” repeated Adam, sharing a wide-eyed glance with James. Michael and Lindsay allowed everyone to go in front of them until they could enter at the same time as Gavin. Michael lightly touched Gavin’s shoulder, and the three of them talked in low voices as Burnie and Matt led the group towards the kitchen/break room area with the wooden tables.

“That’s right,” said Burnie. “All of us here, we’re all mutants, too. I can completely nullify your ability as long as I’m touching you, and I can subdue it to a certain extent if I’m nearby.”

“Well gee,” said James lightly. “ _That_ sure sounds useful.”

“It’s all temporary, though,” Burnie added quickly. “But yes, it’s quite useful for some things.”

“And I,” Matt said, looking over his shoulder at James and Adam, “can identify mutants and their abilities, and use that information to help them understand it, too. We’ve been working on trying to get a sort of… training facility of our own, run mainly _by_ mutants.”

They reached the kitchen area, and the group fanned out with the sudden availability of space. Jack stood next to Geoff near one of the wooden tables, and the rest of the Roosterteeth mutants, too, hovered at a respectable distance from James and Adam.

“You’re both welcome to stay here for the night,” Burnie said. “Or I guess you could stay at one of our houses—whatever you’re comfortable with. But, seeing as it is very late, our next workday is scheduled to start in just a few hours… Do you have anyone to call?”

James opened his mouth, then turned red and said, “I, uh, neither of us have our phones, and I can’t remember any numbers.” Adam shook his head in agreement.

Meg stepped right up next to Burnie and Matt. “I may have a number you can call. Do either of you know a Lawrence Sonntag?”

James’s and Adam’s eyes sparked with recognition. “Yeah!” James confirmed. “He’s one of our co-workers at Inside Gaming.”

“How do you know him?” Adam asked.

Meg grinned and said, “He’s the guy who gave me the information for the facility we got you from. He’ll be very happy to hear your voices, I’m sure. I have his number here, you can use my cell phone.”

She held out her phone, which Adam took. He stared at it for a few seconds, a number displayed across the screen, but then he frowned and shoved it at James. James rolled his eyes and gave a little huff, and traded the pile of clothes for the phone. Still, Adams leaned in close when James hit the call button and held up the phone on speaker between their ears. Geoff figured Adam was nervous for some reason, unable to think about what to say. He resisted the urge to shrug. He didn’t know the guy very well, after all.

After several rings that seemed to last forever—the whole room was holding its breath—the call finally went through. “Hello?” said a man’s voice, barely audible to Geoff. “Meg? What’s up?”

James licked his lips before speaking, glancing at Adam with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “How foolish of you to assume the one calling from Meg’s phone is Meg!”

The gasp was audible over the speakerphone. White noise crackled from it, like someone sitting up in bed. “She got you!” he said loudly. “She got you out! And Adam?”

James nodded at Adam, whose face relaxed into a grin despite his previous apprehension. “Yep, me too,” he said. “We’re… okay.”

More white noise, but quieter this time, and Lawrence’s voice layered over the top of it. “Where are you now? I’m gonna buy a fucking plane ticket right this minute. Fuck—I have to call the others, I—fuck. Fuck. I’m so—you’re okay. You’re okay.”

James and Adam were looking at each other as they chuckled. “Jeez, Lawrence,” said James. “If it weren’t for the fucks you gave, I wouldn’t have thought you cared.”

“I see you haven’t lost your humor,” said Lawrence dryly. But the tight anxiousness was still apparent in his voice. “I’m coming as soon as possible. Text me the address or something. _Fuck_.”

James laughed and patted Adam’s shoulder. “Alright, big guy. We’ll see you soon.” He hung up the phone and handed it back to Meg.

“Is he also a mutant?” Burnie asked politely.

James shook his head. “No, Adam and I were the only mutants in the office. Unless someone’s got a secret, or something.” He shared a look with Adam, and they both shrugged.

“Well,” said Matt, “we’ve got an area you can sleep in. We’re used to people staying here, uh, pretty late,” he added with a grin. “Most of us are probably going to stay here as well, since our work day starts in just a few hours, so if you need anything, we’ll be around.”

“Lead on,” said James. “Let’s get the fuck out of these scrubs.”

* * *

 

Ray woke that night, in the early hours of the morning, in a cold sweat and with whispers filling his ears. The wordless whispers seemed urgent, like they were trying to tell him something, but as he slipped into the waking world, so too did the whispers slip away. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his face, focusing for the moment on calming his breathing.

The whole meditation thing was starting to work. He could feel it. But he still heard the whispers in his dreams, the seduction of the celestial spheres on the other side of the Astral Plane. He shook his head. He had sort of expected the meditation to silence the whispers, but instead he just found the ability to ignore them, the ability to push them aside. Which worked just as well, for him.

He rubbed his short beard thoughtfully. It was like waking up from a dream and remembering the emotions without remembering the details. He had never gotten that sense before, not from the whispers, not from the Astral Plane. It bothered him enough that he didn’t just go straight back to sleep.

He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and sat down cross-legged on the floor with a straight back, hands held in front of him like the website had taught him. He stared down his nose, fixing his gaze on the carpet, and focused on his breathing. He started zoning out, meditating, clearing his mind of distractions. He didn’t worry about time, about how long he was going to sit there. He whispers faded in and out, but he had _control_. And he was going to listen to them.

It was by choice that he let himself slip, his mind sliding through cool darkness and waking up in the Astral Plane. He sat on one of the strangely spongey rocks that populated the plane, mimicking the pose he had adopted in the Earthly Plane, positioned so that he faced the spheres orbiting on the other side of the vast, unbroken crystal. He heard the whispers, felt the tug of the celestial spheres, but he could control the urge. So, he Listened.

The whispers weren’t English. They weren’t anything. They said things, but not in words. They whispered clear blue skies and fresh, cool wind; they whispered the feel of a father’s hand pushing against the back; they whispered the hot plastic swing underneath bare thighs. They whispered the empty void of space, deafening soundlessness, the twinkles of thousands of stars. They whispered an inferno, smoke choking up the throat, scorching doorknobs underneath the palm, a fireman reaching out, a groaning crack and a flurry of embers.

He Listened.

They Whispered.

* * *

 

The next morning, Meg happily informed James and Adam that their friends should be arriving in the afternoon. That was the soonest all of them could manage to book a flight, and a few people from here would be picking them up from the airport when their flight landed.

James had changed into the Achievement Hunter pajama pants and matched it with the purple _People Like Grapes_ shirt. Adam wore the RWBY logo patterned pants and a Red Army shirt—something he actually seemed happy about. The three of them sat at the wooden tables in the kitchen/break area, and had been joined by Burnie, Matt, Geoff, and Jack. It was still early, and not many other employees had straggled in yet, but regardless, the two rescued mutants seemed better off.

“Did you guys rest alright?” Burnie asked.

“Oh yeah,” James said. “It was nice actually being warm for once.”

“They kept our cell so cold,” Adam said, rubbing his arms in remembrance. “So I wouldn’t, you know, break out easily.”

“It was kinda brutal,” James agreed.

“Well you two certainly seem better already than when you arrived here,” Jack noted with a smile.

“If you two don’t mind,” Matt said, holding out his hand, “I would like to scan you, so I can get a reading on your abilities.”

James shrugged and said, “Sure, man.”

He took Matt’s hand, and after a minute or two, Matt said, “Ah, alright. So you can cast an illusion on someone by looking at them, or produce a general illusion in your range of vision. Individual illusions don’t need to be sustained actively, but the person can shake it off if they realize it’s an illusion. Both individual and general illusions may produce psychosomatic effects, but general illusions can’t be destroyed by others in the same way. But people can avoid psychosomatic effects by knowing it’s not real.”

“Well I could’ve told you some of that,” James said, but then he added, “I never really paid attention to the psychosomatic effects though.” Matt held out his hand to Adam, but Adam tensed and withdrew. “Adam, it’s okay.”

“Listen, buddy,” Geoff said. “You don’t have to worry about hurting anyone here. If you do, though, I can heal them.”

“Sorry,” Adam muttered. He sighed heavily and took Matt’s hand.

“So you can absorb outside kinetic and heat energy,” Matt said. “It’s easier to release it with more… _violent_ kinetic energy—punching, for example—but given enough energy you could also transfer it to lifting and throwing strength. Your body can’t store it really well, though, so it’s steadily released over time as heat.”

Adam jerked his hand away. “Thanks.”

“I hate to ask this,” said Burnie, “but did you perhaps hear AMO talk about anything? Yourselves included? Like… if they found anything? Matt can do a lot, but sometimes he misses things or else he doesn’t find out until something particular draws it out.”

James and Adam glanced at each other, faces stern, prompting Jack to say, “You were in there for a pretty long time. Anything you can tell us is helpful, but you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s alright,” said Adam.

“Their methods were… _barbaric_ , to say the least,” said James, “but they discovered some things, I guess.”

“Like my ability,” said Adam. “I can only seem to absorb kinetic energy and heat energy, but electricity and other forms of energy are not absorbed… And I seem to have a… _mild increase_ of durability.”

“And me,” said James, “they found that my illusions seem tied to my eyes and vision. So if they blindfolded me, I couldn’t cast any illusion at all. I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“But why’d they keep you together, in the same cell?” Meg asked. “I mean, surely that’s a big reason why you guys weren’t like… indoctrinated by the time we got there.”

“You’re probably not wrong,” James said with a shrug. “We got there a day or two before this other girl, but they kept _her_ alone. She was… well, a hopeless case within the week. Wouldn’t talk to us except to tell us how great the AMO was and how dangerous we all were simply for existing.” As he spoke, he kept his eye on Adam, who was staring at the edge of the table and his hands resting on it. “To be fair, I think she had spent more time at her previous facility. We were only in the smaller one in California for a few days before they put us in this one.”

“I do remember them talking about us, actually,” Adam said suddenly. “I dunno, I thought it was kind of interesting, in a way. Early on, they discussed it over me as I… was supposed to be sedated, but I guess it didn’t work all the way? But… they mentioned how mutants ‘in the wild—’” He made air quotes with his fingers. “—often were found in pairs or small groups with at least one psychic and one physical mutant, in a sort of mutual balancing relationship.”

“So one controls the other…” Geoff mused aloud.

“Right,” said Adam. “They argued about it, but they eventually decided to keep James and me together, since we already had this relationship and I’m… dangerous and hard to control. They didn’t want to risk pairing me with a stranger, or rely entirely on their technologies…”

“Jokes on them, though,” James quipped, clapping a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “We got out!”

“Yeah…” said Adam softly, still staring down at his feet.

Just then, Michael, Lindsay, and Gavin loudly arrived. If there had been a door to kick open at the point of entrance, Michael would have kicked it. Instead, he swept in, arm outstretched, hand balancing a large donut box.

“Sup, bitches,” Michael declared, gliding over to the table and sliding the box onto its wooden surface. “Breakfast has fucking arrived.”

“Holy shit,” said Adam as both he and James immediately reached for the box, slapping it open and pulling out some of the donuts that were inside. Adam immediately stuffed one in his mouth, but James had the decency to say “We haven’t had donuts in so fucking long” before following suit. The Roosterteeth employees watched them with warm, sad smiles, going in for their own donuts only when James and Adam had settled back. Michael and Gavin sat down, but Lindsay remained standing for the moment.

“I think we have some milk in the fridge over here, if you guys want some,” Lindsay offered. “Or just water. Or… beer?”

The two asked for water, and as Lindsay was retrieving two glasses, Ray and Ryan entered, the latter wearing his black eyepatch over his scarred eye, the former looking surprisingly well-rested. Both, however, had tense, worried faces, and the small crowd waited quietly as they approached. They frowned when they saw James and Adam.

“Are they the two guys you rescued?” Ryan asked, gesturing at the two strangers with their mouths full of donut.

“Yeah,” Geoff said. “James Willems and Adam Kovic. How’d you know there were two? Did someone call you?”

“No,” said Ray, pulling out his phone. “You guys need to see this.” He tapped the screen and held it out to Geoff.

Geoff took it and saw that it was a news article, posted early this morning on a local news site. He read it silently to himself, his eyes narrowing as he swiped the screen. “Oh, dicks,” he said, finally. He looked up at James and Adam as Jack took the phone from him to read it himself. “They’re looking for you. They’re acting like you’re fugitives who broke out of prison, or something.” James and Adam looked at each other, their shoulders slumping slightly, the light fading from their eyes.

“Well you guys _did_ bust a wall and a fence, and trespassed on one of AMO’s ‘educational facilities,’” Ryan said, crossing his arms. “Two of their men reported broken ribs as well. A couple people shot each other on accident, but no deaths, luckily. They have a lot of dirt on you. They’ve _easily_ spun it into a reckless fugitive tale.”

“Well what did you want us to _do_ Ryan!?” Gavin screeched suddenly, shooting up from his seat, his hands balled into fists. Ryan dropped his crossed arms and actually leaned back a little, surprise showing in his widened eyes. Everyone else stared as well—except James and Adam, who merely watched everyone with mild concern. “They had us cornered, and we weren’t bloody leaving without these two. You didn’t see the condition they were kept in! You didn’t see how we found them!”

“I wasn’t saying you did a bad thing!” Ryan said back, raising his voice and leaning back towards Gavin. “Gavin, I probably would have done the same thing! We all would have! Hell knows how much I’d like to kick an AMO guy’s rib in, _Jesus,_ Gavin!”

Gavin sputtered at that, his face turning beat red. Michael silently reached up and tugged him back down to sit at the table again. Gavin stared down at the table, his shoulders hunched. Ray stepped forward and raised his hands in a defensive position. “Let’s not get all fucking shouty,” he said. “Listen, They don’t seem to realize you guys are here. They didn’t even release names or faces, the article just says to look out for a mutant who can bust walls and a mutant who can make you see things that aren’t there. Lay low for a little while and the media will forget about you.”

“But the organization won’t,” Adam said quietly. “Forget about us, I mean.”

“No,” said Geoff gravely. “But you can protect yourself against them. We’ll help you with that.”

Burnie stood and excused himself from the table. “The work day is beginning,” he said. “James, Adam, you can hang out with Achievement Hunter for now. There are a few other mutants here that you haven’t met yet, but we’ll send them your way when they arrive. You can ask any of us for anything, and we’ll help you out, so don’t be shy, okay? Meg, you’re free to stay as long as you like as well.”

“Thanks,” said Meg. “I’ll probably stay as long as it takes to get these boys home. Thank you for all your help. I really couldn’t have done it without everyone.”

“Of course,” said Matt, excusing himself as well. “Though, let’s keep the life-risking to a minimum, okay?” he added lightly.

The others laughed. “That’s the ideal,” Meg agreed.

“Well, our office is right here,” Jack said, standing and gesturing back to their door. Everyone stood and started filing into the room, Michael grabbing the donut box and carrying it into the office. Geoff hung back and grabbed Gavin’s arm as he passed, however, and soon they were the only two left among the wooden tables.

“Is everything okay, Gav?” Geoff asked in a low voice. Gavin watched the door shut, jittering and shifting agitatedly.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I—Gavin.” Geoff stepped between Gavin and the door and faced him fully. “You shouted at Ryan.” He sighed as Gavin stared at his feet. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have sent you on that rescue mission.”

“I’m fine, Geoff!” Gavin insisted. “They needed me. We did good.” Geoff narrowed his eyes at him, and he bit his lip. “Okay, so I—I got a little scared. They pulled guns on us. They—they didn’t really want to kill us, they wanted to capture us again, and I didn’t really want that, did I. And, man, Geoff. You haven’t seen what Adam and James can do. I’m just—glad they’re on our side, you know?”

“I see,” said Geoff. He pulled Gavin into a tight hug and felt the skinny lad relax into it. “You got out okay, and you helped save these two guys from a really horrible fate. But you shouldn’t bottle these things up. You should know that by now.”

Gavin sighed. “I know. But…” He pulled back, his face suddenly serious, his eyes wide. “Geoff, one of the guards recognized me.”

“What?”

“One of the guards, he knew I was from Roosterteeth, he knew that I had sonic abilities,” Gavin said. “I didn’t remember it until just now.”

Geoff took a moment before speaking again, puffing out his cheeks and sighing heavily. “You know, I guess I’m not surprised, at this point. It can’t be good, though. Hopefully nothing comes of it, but I’ll alert Matt and Burnie.”

Gavin nodded grimly. The two of them headed for their office as Geoff sent out a text. He slipped his phone back into his pocket just as they entered. James and Adam, both reclined on the white couch, were being regaled with stories told by Michael, Ray, and Ryan about some of the things they had experienced since discovering their mutant status. Ray was describing the first time he projected, after Jack had accidentally knocked them all out. They were laughing, but Jack was turning red at his computer across the room.

“I thought I’d put you in a coma or something!” Jack snapped.

“You forgot about knocking heads with Gavin when you woke up,” Michael said between giggles. Both James and Adam winced in sympathy.

“Oh, I didn’t forget,” Ray said, rubbing his forehead.

Geoff clapped his hands. “Alright, dickheads, you have jobs to do. We’re still a company, you know.”

“Yes, Geoff,” his employees chorused, ambling back to their desks. 

Geoff sat on the arm of the couch so he could talk to James and Adam. “Sorry to cut your conversation off, but there will be time for that later. We have a schedule to keep, you understand.”

“Oh yeah, we get it,” Adam said.

“What do you guys do anyway?” Geoff asked pleasantly as he watched his employees put on headphones and hunch over their keyboards.

Adam seemed about to say something, but the words caught in his throat. James answered easily, however. “We work for Inside Gaming, doing shit like reporting for video games. Used to be Inside Halo.”

“Yeah I think I’ve heard of that,” Geoff mused. “I have to say, you guys seem like the type to fit right in at Roosterteeth.”

“Thanks. I think.”

Geoff cleared his throat and looked at the rest of the office again. “I’ve got shit to do as well, but maybe later we can play something. Sorry we can’t do much now, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. Besides, we shouldn’t _all_ be busy all the time.”

James flashed him a smile. “We understand, thanks, Geoff. It’ll be nice to… relax, for a little while, anyway,” he said, putting a hand on Adam’s back.

Geoff gazed at them for a few seconds before nodding sharply and standing. He walked over to his desk, and when he looked back, James was holding his other hand out, palm up, in front of Adam and staring at it in concentration, making a miniature kaiju-like monster appear and dance around like a World of Warcraft character. Adam chuckled, and when James made his hand into a fist and dissipated the illusion, he muttered something, twirling his finger over his own palm as he spoke. James evidently found that hilarious, and opened his hand again. Two miniature monsters appeared, now wearing bright pink tutus, and they waltzed around together on his palm.

Geoff shrugged and turned to his computer. _At least they’re entertained_ , he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's actually a shit ton of setup in this chapter. This outta be fun... ψ(｀∇´)ψ


	30. Ways To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [closes eyes and hits post button]

Over the course of the morning, the other Roosterteeth mutants stopped by the Achievement Hunter office to greet James and Adam. Kyle appeared only briefly, introducing himself and trading a few friendly jokes before returning to work. Patrick showed off a little of what he could do, generating a small amount of ink and forming different shapes and figures (“I’ve just been practicing in my free time, I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of it!”). Joel, being Joel, ended up sticking around for a good long while until Geoff finally got him to leave and stop distracting _all_ of them with his economy chats.

Meg was in and out of the office as well, off doing who knew what. Geoff never bothered to find out; her business was her business. She would talk with James and Adam, make sure they were doing alright. On one of her visits, when Gavin was taking a break and sitting with the Inside Gaming mutants, she leaned over and said she forgot to thank him personally for his help last night. He turned bright red and stammered that he needed to return to work. She laughed, and a few minutes later when she left, she dropped a slip of paper on his desk.

Finally, it was time to go get lunch. Split with lack of compromise, Michael took Lindsay and Ray to one location, and Geoff took Gavin and Ryan to a different food place, promising to bring Jack and the two Inside Gaming mutants something.

And so, Jack was alone with the two mutants. The office felt oddly empty when everyone was starting their lunch breaks. Jack wanted to start chitchatting, but strangely enough couldn’t think of anything to say. He found himself distracted, more often than not, by the brightness and intensity of James’s eyes, and instead opted to stare at the door, the ground, the shelf of games, anything else. The result was an unbearable awkward silence.

Adam didn’t seem, as a whole, bothered by the lack of conversation. In fact, he seemed wrapped up in his own thoughts, slouched forward on the couch so that he propped his elbows on his knees. James, though, seemed equally bothered by the silence, or at the very least, bored. After what felt like a long while of fidgeting, he got up and started examining the shelf of games, leaning in close to read some of the titles.

“You guys sure do have a lot of games,” he remarked.

“Well, it _is_ our job,” Jack said.

“Too true, too true,” James said, turning with a wide grin. Jack tried not to be unsettled by those large blue eyes. They seemed to bore into his soul, and it wasn’t pleasant. He weakly returned the smile. James himself was genial enough, cracked jokes easily with everyone around him. His personality certainly seemed to fit right in. “We play a lot too. Ever play Psychonauts?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“That’s one of my favorites.”

The conversation dwindled. Jack twiddled his thumbs. When were the others going to get back? How long would he have to be alone with these two mutants? “Uh… Inside Gaming, that’s a part of Machinima, right?”

“Yep,” said James. “I think we still work there, anyway. It’s been a month or so now…”

“They’ll take us back,” Adam growled suddenly. He was still staring hard at the floor. “They probably have us down as on medical leave or something. They _wanted_ us taken.”

“Adam…” James started.

Adam whipped his glare up to James. When he stood, the leather of the couch audibly crackled with chill. His face was beginning to flush red with warmth. “You know that someone we know arranged it! Someone tipped Them off! Someone brought the organization to our office to take us!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” James snapped. He huffed quickly and made an obvious effort not to shout. Jack was silent, and wished he was invisible. “Why would someone sell us out, Adam? It doesn’t make any sense!”

Jack could feel the temperature in the room dropping. He was paralyzed with indecision, uncertainty. Should he do something? Before Adam broke something? Should he use his ability? Would it be right to take Adam’s will away at this moment, when he was angry, upset?

“I don’t know!” Adam said, throwing his hands up. He paced back in forth in a short, tight path. “Maybe they’re not the friend we thought. Maybe they saw us developing our powers and—fuck, I don’t know, got scared, got jealous, thought we were broke and needed fixing.”

He stopped pacing and put his face in his hands, shoulders hunched, diaphragm heaving, palms pressing into his eyes. Heat waves curled off of him.

“Adam, you need to calm down,” James said. As Jack watched, tiny translucent images flickered across those bright blue irises. Adam winced and grabbed his hair, sunk to the ground with a whine. James was at his side in an instant.

“I can’t control it,” Adam whimpered. “I can’t—I can’t control…”

“I know,” said James. “You’re alright now, though. You’re okay.”

“It’s so hot,” Adam said. He rocked a little, but his breathing had calmed, his eyes still closed.

“It’s—a fireplace,” James muttered, staring intently at his friend, rubbing his back. “You’re safe, inside…”

“I’ll—I’ll go get Burnie,” Jack blurted awkwardly, and he dodged around the pair to duck out the door.

He exhaled heavily once he was outside the office, and he spared a glance through the door at the pair of mutants. He saw James’s eyes, bright and terribly blue, and before he knew it, the scenery around him had changed. The kitchen area, with the brown wooden tables, the white walls, they were splattered with blood, with liquid. Bullet holes peppered the walls, the counters and tabletops. His friends lay around him in heaps, eyes blank and unstaring. Ray lay crumpled on his side against the wall just outside the office. Geoff was splayed on his back on top of one of the tables, his chest slick and red, ripped open by bullet wounds. Michael and Gavin and Lindsay were in a heap in the middle of the room, blood smeared across their skin, dappling their clothes, clumping their hair, pooling underneath them. Ryan’s head was several feet away from his body hunched over a chair.

Sharp pain lanced through Jack’s head. He couldn’t seem to breathe right. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t seem to find the will. Pressure built up against his skull, a force pushing against his bone and eyes. He couldn’t fight down the psychic blast, his headache growing worse, his eyes starting to glow…

A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and abruptly everything fell away. The pain dissipated, and the gory images faded, the room returning to normal. Jack was gasping, his shoulders heaving, legs trembling, as he looked to the owner of the hand. Burnie frowned gravely at him, his brow furrowed.

“You alright?” he asked quietly. “You were freaking out there.”

“I—yeah,” Jack said. Weariness started to drag at his eyelids. He glanced back to his office door. James stood there now, half hidden by the door like a child who knew he’d done wrong. Behind him, Adam hugged his knees on the floor, eyes closed, back pressed against the couch. He narrowed his eyes. “It was—an illusion.”

“An… illusion…” Burnie seemed to catch on, and he spun to face James as well. “It must have mixed badly with your own psychic abilities. James?”

James’s gaze flicked to the floor, carefully avoiding looking at them. “I—I panicked a little, alright? I don’t necessarily have… as much control as I make it seem.”

“Oh, you _panicked_ —” Jack said hotly, but Burnie cut him off.

“No harm done, right?” Burnie insisted. He took his hand off Jack’s shoulder and approached James. “How is Adam?”

James opened the door wider and stepped aside so Burnie could enter. “Alright, I guess. I handled it.”

“You handled it…” Burnie repeated, crouching next to Adam.

Jack didn’t watch what happened next, because at that moment the rest of the Achievement Hunters filed in, carrying paper bags and cups. Jack hadn’t realized how tense his back was until he saw Geoff and the others walking, fully alive and never at any point bloody and dead. The tension seeped out of his muscles, and a broad grin stretched across his face. Geoff saw it and raised an eyebrow with a lazy smirk.

“Miss us that much?” he teased.

“You guys sure took your sweet goddamn time,” Jack replied. He nodded at the door. In a low voice, when Geoff came close, he added, “Please don’t leave me alone with them again.”

Geoff frowned, but he nodded. “What happened?”

“A little freak out,” Jack said bitterly, following them back into their office. They all carefully stepped around Burnie and Adam on the floor, retreating further into the corner. “It’s over now, though. But…” He noticed James looking at them again, dry-washing his hands and carefully avoiding staring at any individual for too long. He waved James over, and all of them drew closer together in the corner of the office as Burnie and Adam spoke together quietly. He wanted to be miffed at James, but now wasn’t the time. Besides, he had an important question.

“What was all that about being set up?” Jack asked. “Someone called the AMO in on you to take you to that horrible place?”

James bit his lower lip as the other Achievement Hunters gasped and rabbled about the horridness of such an idea, who would _do_ such a thing? He glanced back at Adam, who was intently focused on Burnie kneeling in front of him. He faced the Achievement Hunters again and closed his eyes and licked his lips as he prepared to speak.

“I’ll… start from the beginning. You know we work for Inside Gaming up in California. We share a little office with some other coworkers, friends—friends who are on their way here now. Adam and I—we discovered our mutations fairly recently. Your CEO mentioned vaccines to us, and I bet they had just worn off recently. We didn’t keep it a secret—not really. It wasn’t like we shared it online, or anything, but everyone in our little office knew.

“Anyway, it was just—a random day, and three guys walked into our office unannounced. They looked kind of like a low-key swat team or something. Bulletproof vests and weapons and everything. They marched right on in and demanded to know who the two mutants were in this office. We were to come with them to a training facility outside of town, and it was ‘mandatory for the safety of civilians,’ or whatever they had said. And if we didn’t cooperate, they’d take all of us and do blood tests to find us.

“I’m sure no one meant to, but a few of us glanced at Adam. His is… a more obvious power, so if people like that came for one of us, it’d probably be for him, right? And one of the strange guys saw the look and assumed. I’m sure they didn’t want to do any extra unnecessary work, so when it was given away, they jumped on it. Two of them grabbed Adam so roughly, threatened him with guns, and he was shouting and protesting and everyone was shouting—when Adam tried to fight, they grabbed someone else—and they—I—I volunteered myself up so they’d let us walk with them freely, so they’d stop. I just wanted them to stop hurting, I—I…”

Geoff reached out and squeezed his shoulder. He continued, simply, quickly, “They handcuffed us, escorted us to a van, and, well, you know…”

“You eventually ended up in Texas,” Gavin supplied helpfully. James nodded, his lips pursed and his face pale.

“Adam thinks one of your friends deliberately called the AMO on you?” Jack asked quietly. He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t imagine feeling that way about his own coworkers, his own friends.

James sighed, looking at his hands as he wrung them. “He seems convinced. How else would They know there were two of us? I just think it was one big accident, really. I’m sure They could have found out about us any number of ways that wouldn’t have been anyone’s fault.”

“Well fuck man,” Ryan said. “I’m so sorry that happened to both of you.”

“Yeah,” James said, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “I was lucky,” he added in a murmur. “They needed me to control Adam, so They couldn’t…”

“Michael, Ray?” Burnie called suddenly. “Why don’t you come here and talk to Adam about some tips on controlling your abilities?”

“Huh? Oh, sure, I guess,” said Ray, exchanging a shrug with Michael. The rest of the conversationalists started to drift apart, and Geoff suggested James join them for a game or something. The others could tell it was to get all their minds off the present situation, off the story James had just told, but they didn’t say it outright.

Ray and Michael wandered over to Burnie and Adam, and the four of them tacitly agreed to leave the office. Burnie let them sit at one of the wooden tables as he stood at its head. Adam was alone on one side, his shoulders hunched and his arms folded in front of him as he stared decidedly at the table, his face still flushed pink. Ray and Michael took the other side.

“I have work I need to do,” Burnie said, patting the table. “But if you need me, you know where my office is.”

And then Burnie was gone. Silence lay over them like a quilt, and Ray began to tap his foot restlessly. Neither of them could stop thinking about James’s story and Adam’s suspicions. Could Adam possibly be right? Or was he just trying to find someone to blame? “So, uh,” Ray started, but trailed off.

“I dunno where to fucking begin,” Michael said sourly.

“I’m sorry,” Adam told the table. “I keep causing trouble, it’s all my fault…”

“No, it’s fucking not,” Michael snapped. “I fucking bet that if the AMO hadn’t gotten you, you and James would have figured out your abilities naturally and be fine. You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything.”

“But they _did_ get us,” Adam snapped back, smacking the table. But he took a deep breath and curled his hands into fists. “I just… feel like I’m losing control a lot, and it’s…”

“It’s scary,” Ray supplied quietly. “It’s scary not knowing how to deal with it.”

Adam met their eyes for the first time. “You know?”

“Yeah,” said Michael, gentler this time. “We both have had, ah, _troubles_. My ability was… hard to control from the start. I felt like I could produce a bunch of fucking acid whenever I wanted, which was fine, but at least at first, I couldn’t seem to shut it all the way off? Like, my sweat would bleach my jeans, and I was too afraid to touch my wife for a long time in case I accidentally hurt her.”

“And I,” Ray said. “I, uh… How do I explain this. I had good control for a while. Decent, you know? It came naturally, more or less. And then suddenly there were elements I didn’t understand, elements that… took my control away. I felt like I was losing the grip I had on my ability.”

Adam glanced between them, his shoulders still tight and hunched, but his hands no longer in fists. “How did you figure it out again?”

Ray and Michael looked at each other. Ray nodded, letting Michael go first.  “Mainly it just fucking took time. In my case, I needed to learn to trust myself a bit more. My fear of hurting others was actually doing more harm than good. I was so scared that my constant anxiety and caution actually made everything worse. It’s not perfect yet, but once I realized my fear was actually holding me _back_ , it felt a lot easier to… to keep myself in check.”

Michael motioned desperately to Ray, who said, “I’ve been trying meditation recently, actually, after some attempts at—fixing it in other ways. Starting doing it this past week, just about, and I already feel the difference. I know my ability is more psychic, and yours and Michael’s is more physical, so it’s a little different, but it might help you, you know, control your mental state? _Fuck_ , that sounds cheesy, but you know, when you take the time to relax and really fucking meditate, you’re able to push fear and… uh, other things aside and just—be _there_. You know?” Ray shrugged helplessly.

Adam clasped his hands together and stared down at them. He sighed, letting air out through his nose. “So I guess these things helped you. Meditating, trusting yourself…”

“Hey,” Ray said. “You’ve said that it’s worst when you can’t think straight. Maybe meditating will be good. You know, mind over body? That’s a thing people say, right?”

The group chuckled, even Adam. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s a thing. He paused. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try something like that. It feels worst when I’m panicking, when I—can’t think straight, so maybe…”

“Hey man,” Ray said, “we’re here to help.”

“Yeah,” agreed Michael. “Most of us just fucking muddled our way through it with the others. We’re lucky to have Matt and Burnie with us, but we’ll muddle with you, man. Everything’s confusing, sure, but you’re not alone.”

“Yeah,” Ray added. “Listen, if you and James want to stay here for a little while, even after your friends come, you can practice with us. Figure things out with the rest of us.”

Adam looked up at them then and smiled, smiled in a way that crinkled his eyes and brightened his features. It was a warm smile, and Ray and Michael found themselves returning it.

“Thanks,” said Adam. “That… means a lot.”

* * *

 

As Ray started giving Adam tips, Michael excused himself, brought back a white paper bag containing two lunches, and disappeared once more inside the Achievement Hunter office. There, he saw that a local game of Halo had already been set up, James on Geoff’s Xbox competing in a Slayer free-for-all against Ryan, Gavin, and Jack. Geoff stood over James’s shoulder, and he roared with laughter right as Michael entered.

“Jesus Christ, dude,” Geoff said. “It’s been like a minute and you’ve already died three times.”

“I’m rusty!” James complained. “Did you forget where I’ve been for the past month or so?” Gavin squealed as James killed him with a grenade. “There, see? I got a kill.”

Geoff was laughing again. “Congrats!” he snorted. “You fucking killed _Gavin_. He’s just as likely to kill _himself!_ ”

“Wasting no time bullying the new guy, I see,” Michael noted with a smirk. Jack glanced over his shoulder to see him.

“How’d the chat go?” he asked. “Where’s Ray?”

Michael jabbed his thumb at the closed door behind him. “The two of them are still out there; Ray’s giving him some tips or some shit. Everything seems fine.”

James actually paused his game and set his controller down so he could turn to face Michael, resting one arm on the back of Geoff’s chair. When the other three players realized he had paused, they did the same. “Sorry about all this,” James apologized, the lightness in his voice replaced with gray seriousness. His bright blue eyes met Michael’s for a second, but then flicked to the floor. “But thanks for trying to help.”

“ _James_ ,” Michael said shortly. “It’s _fine_.” After a pause, he added, “Oh yeah, James, we offered Adam the option to stay with us a few extra days so he could practice with us. The same offer goes to you.”

“Way to fucking ask your bosses,” Geoff said, but his face showed no anger. “But that’s totally a fine idea.”

James considered it, but from the way his eyes shone, they knew his answer before he spoke again. “That sounds great! I honestly don’t think we could ask for more.”

* * *

 

Just a couple hours later, Michael and Geoff left to drive two cars to the airport to pick up James’s and Adam’s coworkers. As those who remained waited, they flocked together, waiting in the kitchen area just outside the Achievement Hunter office. All of the Roosterteeth mutants, plus Meg and a few other non-mutants congregated loosely, some sitting at tables, some standing in vague social groups. Adam could not seem to stop pacing, but at the very least he was not losing control of his ability. James stood with a few Achievement Hunters, watching Adam paced and chatting with everyone.

Then, finally, James glanced over his shoulder towards one of the room’s entrances. His entire face lit up, and he cried out, “It’s them!”

Everyone’s chatter quieted, and Adam stopped his pacing as James sprinted for the five men who entered the kitchen area with Michael and Geoff. He practically launched himself into the arms the bearded brunet with the oval face and large forehead. The other men included a black-haired man with a wide mouth and thick-rimmed glasses, one with a square face and curly black hair, a ginger in a red baseball cap, and a man with large dark eyes and a bushy brown beard. These men echoed James’s excitement and loudness, a rabble of names and sentiments rising from their throats.

“Welcome to—” Matt started, but his eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and the words strangled in his throat. An observer might have said he saw something that surprised him.

“Guys, these men are Bruce, Lawrence, Joel, Spoole, and Peake,” Geoff said lazily, completely missing Matt's flub, gesturing at each man respectively.

“Welcome to Roosterteeth,” Burnie supplied warmly as Matt put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

By the time James had detached himself from Bruce, the rest of Roosterteeth had formed a loose but polite half-circle around them, giving the Inside Gaming men plenty of space, but still positioning themselves so they could see everything. It was at this time that everyone had realized that Adam had hung back, hovering in front of the Roosterteeth crowd but still well away from his coworkers. His coworkers were all large smiles and bubbled giggles of relief, but when they tried to approach Adam, he took a step back.

“So,” he said, his face hard and set. “Which one of you did it?”


	31. Unsteady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been mostly written for a good while as a separate chunk, and now I've finally written up to this point. What a good day.

“Which one of you did it?”

The silence pounded on their eardrums, their tongues trapped like a snake in a noose. Those who didn’t know of Adam’s suspicions were appropriately shocked and confused, and those who did were startled by his bluntness.

“What?” sputtered Bruce. “Adam—what are you talking about?”

Adam gestured at his friends wildly. “One of you got the AMO on our tail. One of you invited Them to our office.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Joel blurted. “Why would one of us do that?”

“Adam, please—” James said.

“Now hold on,” said Spoole. “We’ve just seen him for the first time in a month and a half. Cut him some slack!”

“Month gone or not, Spoole,” Bruce said, “this is a serious accusation!”

“It is!” Joel added. “What the fuck?”

“Hey now, let’s not get snippy,” Lawrence pleaded.

“Own up to it!” Adam demanded. “It could have only been one of you guys. Was it you, Joel?” The curly-haired man stepped back with wide eyes as if slapped. “Spoole?” The man in the baseball cap’s face slackened in surprise.

“Adam!” James pleaded. “It could have been an accident or something. They could have found out on their own.”

“They knew there were exactly two of us!” Adam insisted. “ _Bruce?_ ”

“No way!” Bruce said immediately.

They bickered back and forth like that, six of them steadily getting louder—the seventh, Peake, said very little and mostly tried to keep people separate with his arms if necessary, stopping anyone from getting too close to one another. The observers fell silent and just watched. This wasn’t the reunion they had hoped to see, and they weren’t sure how to intervene—or even if they _should_ intervene.

And then, Lawrence’s face changed, his wide mouth setting into a hard line. He raised his voice above the din, shoving his way into the center of his coworkers and throwing his hands up.

“Shut up!” he shouted. “Everyone, shut up!” They faltered, and Lawrence took this lull to blurt, before his determination failed, “It was me, okay? I’m the reason the organization came to our office. Just—stop fighting!”

Everyone did stop. But they rounded on him instead, exclamations of confusion dropping from the non-mutants’ mouths. James’s mouth hung open like he forgot to close it, but he still reacted when Adam lunged at Lawrence. He thrust out an arm to block Adam as Lawrence stumbled back into Peake and Spoole.

“Hold on, hold _on_ , Adam,” James grunted, forcing the other man away. Adam backed down, but he glared at Lawrence like an enraged bull, breathing heavily through his nose. “Lawrence, what the hell? What did you fucking do? Why?”

“I didn’t know, okay!” Lawrence cried. “I didn’t know they’d be so forceful—so intimidating! All I knew at the time was that you two were developing these weird and potentially very dangerous abilities, and _They_ said they had training facilities for those just discovering their mutations! I thought it would help, in case it was something you couldn’t do on your own. It seemed harmless, it seemed just like some classes or something, but they didn’t even reply. I thought they didn’t even get my message. And then they came to our office demanding to know who the mutants were—”

“Do you know what they did to us!?” Adam roared. He shoved James away and strode right up to Lawrence, grabbing the arm Lawrence raised to defend himself. “They tortured us, Lawrence! You sold us out to monsters!”

“I didn’t know! I didn’t know!” Lawrence simpered, his voice tight and his eyes shining bright. “I’m so sorry—it was all my fault! I haven’t slept properly in a month and a half, I—”

“Oh, you lost some fucking _sleep!_ ” Adam was right up in Lawrence’s face. The others cowered back, too fearful to interfere. “Do you know what they did, Lawrence? They sedated me. Every night. They—they blindfolded James and held him fucking hostage in front of me until I did what they fucking wanted, one way or another.”

“Adam…” James whispered, but Adam wasn’t done.

“I wasn’t allowed to touch anyone,” he continued, shouting in his friend’s face. “If I came too close, they neutralized me. They tazed me or sedated me again. They told me I was a monster—they told me that every single fucking day, and that if I didn’t want to fucking hurt anyone, I would stay there and train with them. If I wanted to—to be one of the good creatures, tamed and on a leash, if I didn’t want to be a crazed mutant destroying streets and threatening people’s lives, I would do as they say. I would be good, and if James ever got hurt, it was my fucking fault—for not being good enough—for not being in control. And you know what?” His face, red from shouting, was close to Lawrence’s pale expression. His volume lowered slightly as he hoarsely seethed, “Eventually, I _believed_ them.”

He ducked his head and threw Lawrence’s arm aside, spinning on his heel and making to stomp off. But Lawrence reached out, held his hand up as though to grab Adam’s shoulder even though he was now beyond arm’s length.

“Adam, wait!” Lawrence blurted. He lowered his voice next, so he wasn’t shouting at his friend. “I worked day and night to find where you two were,” Lawrence said. “I couldn’t—I will never forgive myself for what they’ve done to you. We all—we all looked for you. But I _hunted_. Day and night, all of my free time, all of my waking moments. I hunted for any information on your whereabouts. I couldn’t imagine—I couldn’t believe… It’s all my fault, Adam. I tried to make up for it, but it’s all my fault.”

Meg’s feminine voice cut through the scene, speaking from her place in the surrounding crowd. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as Lawrence to find you, Adam,” she said. “And without his information, I wouldn’t have known that place existed—at least, not for a long while. Not until it would be too late.”

“He worked way harder than any of us,” said Spoole. “Like, we all tried our hardest, did what we could, but Lawrence, man…”

“Makes more sense now,” Bruce noted scathingly, crossing his arms.

Lawrence glanced at him, but largely ignored the statement. He stared at Adam until the mutant half-turned, studying Lawrence’s face as though seeking answers.

“The AMO tricks people,” Burnie supplied. Now that Meg had spoken up, others were starting to shift in place, itching to help in some way. “They set things up in attractive ways. Their flowery language traps mutants and non-mutants alike. It’s easy to find someone to blame, Adam, but Lawrence was fooled just as hundreds of people have been fooled.”

“I made a mistake,” Lawrence said, holding Adam’s gaze desperately. “I made the biggest mistake of my life, and you and James suffered for it. You’re not a monster, Adam. You’re our friend and we all want you back home.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?” Adam said in a strangled voice. “Why didn’t you…?”

“We tried,” Joel said. “Once they found out AMO was involved, they dropped the case.”

“They never even tried to help us,” Bruce added bitterly.

Adam averted his gaze, staring at the floor as if it might hold answers there. Then he really did stomp out of the room, striding away, pushing through the crowd, and bolting for the door. The Inside Gaming group split in half, Bruce and Joel calling after Adam and giving chase. Peake and Spoole and James stayed with Lawrence, who sunk to his knees, and then to his hands, hanging his head like Atlas had just given him the sky to hold on his back.

* * *

 

Adam broke into a run as soon as possible, searching for an exit. He had to leave, now, he had to find a place to clear his head. It was all too much to think about. He wanted to hate Lawrence. If Lawrence had never sent information to the AMO, he and James would probably still be in California, figuring out their abilities and just having fun and working.

But if AMO hadn’t made the educational facilities sound so positive…

He heard Bruce and Joel behind him, but he didn’t stop until he was shoving through a door to the outside. He jogged several paces into the parking lot, slowing down and opting to stand in the sunlight, face turned up towards the warmth of the sun, eyes closed. He didn’t know who to blame. He didn’t know who to hate. His head felt like it was reeling. He tried to regulate his breathing, but the warmth seeped into his skin, his flesh, and he could feel the transformed energy begin to course through his muscles.

“Adam?” It was Bruce. He opened his eyes and turned towards the two friends who had given chase. He took a step back as they approached. “Adam, it’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not that, it’s—you shouldn’t touch me right now.”

Bruce and Joel glanced at each other, and seemed to catch on. They didn’t come any closer. “Lawrence didn’t want any of this to happen, same as any of us,” Bruce said.

“I know,” Adam muttered heatedly. He clenched his hands, flexed his biceps, tried to release some of the energy building up. Stop it, stop it! He couldn’t stop it!

“He did everything in his power to get you back. He really tried to make up for it—”

“ _I know!_ ” Adam stressed. He ran his hand through his hair and began to pace. “Fucking Christ, I know!”

“Please come back inside,” Joel pleaded. “Please don’t leave…”

“How can I trust him again?” Adam snapped, pivoting on one foot to glare at the other two men. “Tell me, how can I trust him with—with me, with my presence. He made a mistake, and what’s stopping him from making another one?”

Bruce and Joel were quiet for a moment. “What’s to stop any of us from making mistakes?” Bruce said. “Adam, no one is denying that what happened was awful. No one’s denying Lawrence’s role, but—it could have been any of us. We were—we were all a little scared, in the beginning. Not _that_ much—you were still you—but it was an unknown future, and that’s what was scary. The sudden development of your abilities was something none of us had ever experienced before. And we all wished we had done something different when They took you away. We’re not… we’re not asking you to trust him again, just understand. You could never be as hard on Lawrence as he is on himself right now.”

“Come back with us,” Joel said. “We can work this out. But nothing ever gets better if you just walk out.”

Adam put his face in his hands and let out a loud groan. They were right, and he knew it. He couldn’t go on like this. He knew it was unfair to blame Lawrence, not when it was likely happenstance that it was him and not someone else, not when he knew the AMO had some serious propaganda. He didn’t _want_ the drama. He wanted to go home, to have everything go back to some semblance of normal. He breathed into his hands for a few moments as Bruce and Joel waited patiently. He wasn’t sure he could trust Lawrence again, not right now, but… it had been a mistake. A mistake anyone could make. He could, perhaps, forgive.

A calm settled around him. Charged power still thrummed in his muscles, but he dropped his hands and took a deep breath. Then, he relaxed. Abruptly, the stored energy was exhausted from his muscles, released in heatwaves almost all at once. The rush was gone, expelled. He opened his eyes, looked at the expectant Bruce and Joel, and nodded.

* * *

 

Back inside, James crouched down in front of Lawrence, who lifted his head to look at his friend. Lawrence’s face was screwed up as if in agony.

“Did they really blindfold you?” Lawrence asked in a whisper.

James didn’t answer at first. He licked his lips and glanced down at the floor as if considering something. Then he looked back up and put his hands lightly on each side of Lawrence’s head. He held eye contact, and images flickered across his blue irises. Lawrence’s face slackened as he watched.

Lawrence’s vision slipped away, replaced by blackness, but he could feel scratchy fabric across his eyes, tied around his head. He knew his hands were free, could feel them pressing into the chill floor, yet he also had the distinct sensation of having them cuffed behind the back of a cold metal chair, the edges of the chair cutting into the flesh of his arms. He knew it was an illusion; he had been subject to them before as James practiced. But this one felt different. He let himself be swept away.

An unfamiliar voice sounded in his ear. “ _No_ , you fucking moron. Do not hit Kovic.”  Something hard struck him across the jaw, shooting pain across his bone. It stung hotly.

“Do it, Kovic. Absorb the energy of the water.”

A pause. Then he heard Adam’s voice, muted slightly as if on the other side of a window. “Ah, fuck!”

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there’s a fucking problem! It’s boiling hot, it’s fucking—”

“You have an order, Kovic.”

“I can’t do it!”

An electric shock surged through his system. All of his muscles locked up and spasmed as tingling electricity lanced through his body. He jerked against his bindings, the metal cutting into him, a scream ripping out of his throat, his clenched jaw—no, not his, James’s, James’s voice echoing in his eardrums as though he was speaking inside his skull. The current vanished as soon as it came, leaving his nerve endings prickling uncomfortably, several hot circles pressing into the skin on his chest and back.

“That was your fault. Do it, Kovic,” said the unfamiliar voice.

There was silence.

Something made an enormous crunching and banging sound, like something heavy being chucked into glass but not breaking it. Solid tin clunked dully down to the ground.

“Naughty,” said the voice. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Electricity shot through him again. It felt like holes were burning into his chest. He couldn’t control his muscles. He fought unwillingly against his binds. He heard James scream again in his skull.

When the electricity was gone once more, he was panting. He felt fingers curl in his hair, and the cloth around his eyes was ripped away. He blinked in the sudden light. He was in a pure white room facing a full wall of glass looking into another pure white room. The window had a giant spider web of cracks in one spot, and a gray tub of frozen water lay on its side a few paces away. He could tell there were people around him, but he couldn’t see them. The hand in his hair kept his head facing forward, facing towards Adam, who was against the wall, a crack spread under the palm he slammed against the window as he cried out for James.

“Calm him,” ordered the voice. Adam was flushed red, staring hopelessly, agonizingly at him. His heart nearly broke right there. He couldn’t do anything to help—he was powerless.

“Why don’t you just sedate him like you always do?” he heard James say bitterly.

The fingers pulled, and the back of his skull slammed into the metal chair. It yanked him forward again. The crack under Adam’s hand had grown bigger.

“Calm him,” the voice ordered again.

“I’m sorry,” came James’s voice, resounding in his eardrums. “It’ll be okay, Adam. It’ll be okay.”

Lawrence blinked rapidly as this vision, this illusion blurred and dropped away. He could feel perspiration sticking to his face, and he was breathing heavily as he stared back at James. James’s eyelids drooped as though heavy, but he held Lawrence’s gaze still.

Lawrence’s face crumpled as he reached up a hand to touch James’s chest with light, trembling fingers. “Oh god,” he whispered. James gave a small nod, his mouth set in a grim line. Lawrence’s fingers curled around James’s shirt, wrinkling the fabric. He ducked his head again. “I had no idea. I’m so fucking sorry,” he moaned. “It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”

“You couldn’t have known,” said James wearily. “You were tricked.”

Lawrence pulled away from James to look him in the eye. “I won’t let something like this happen again. The AMO won’t have heard the last from me.”

James nodded sharply, then smiled. He stood and offered his hand to Lawrence, who took it and allowed himself to be tugged to his feet. Spoole and Peake, who had been standing just behind him, watching the scene unfold, now patted him on the shoulder, quietly showing their support. Lawrence scanned the small crowd around them. His brow furrowed until the crowd parted, and Bruce and Joel were leading Adam back towards him. They paused just past the edge of the crowd, all of them averting gazes. The air felt thick as ice.

“Adam…” Lawrence started as he approached Adam slowly. Bruce and Joel stood behind Adam like bodyguards, but they looked at Adam with apprehension. But when Lawrence drew close, Adam suddenly flung his arms around him.

“I just want to forget it ever happened,” Adam said quietly, burying his face into Lawrence’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Lawrence muttered, returning the embrace. He knew that all was not fixed, but this was a good moment, a good sign. “They won’t ever touch you again, not if I can help it.”

“Group hug!” Spoole declared, and in seconds, all of the Inside Gaming guys were huddled in a group in the middle of Roosterteeth. Lawrence and Adam were nearly crushed by the weight of their friends, and laughter bubbled up from them as they struggled to keep their balance. The Roosterteeth employees laughed and started to clap as the tension shattered—it felt like a disaster was narrowly avoided. The men broke apart, but each one seemed to want to keep touching Adam and James, hands grabbing hands, arms draped over shoulders.

“We can take you home as soon as you like,” Lawrence told Adam and James. “Say the word and we’ll purchase plane tickets back to California.”

“We’ve missed you at work,” Joel said eagerly, but then he quickly sobered. “You don’t have to come back immediately, but you know…”

“And no more AMO shit,” Bruce declared seriously, an intense gleam in his eye. “We won’t ever let Them get their hands on you again. If They ever come by again…”

“Aw, you’ll probably just fart on them,” James said with a grin.

Adam laughed, and everyone’s faces brightened to hear it. “Hell, that’d probably work. You know how fucking potent those are.”

“Gotta use the gifts God gave me,” Bruce said simply.

“In all seriousness,” Adam said, detangling himself from his friends. “We agreed to stay here for a few days. The people here are gonna help us… get a better understanding of our abilities. Some tips for practicing control. You know, what the AMO _claimed_ to do.”

“You’re all welcome to stay as well,” Matt said, getting their attention. He had a serious look on his face, as though he was trying to solve a riddle in his head, but then he smiled warmly. “You’ll have to get a hotel, but we can point you to them, and you’re welcome to spend the day with us at Roosterteeth.”

“Thank you,” said Lawrence. “I think we’ll do that.”

Bruce suddenly grabbed James around the middle in a tight hug and actually lifted the man up. “I’m so glad you’re back and okay!” he said with a grunt.

“Woah, okay, cowboy,” James said, kicking his feet a little but still grinning. “I think it’s time to put me back down.”

* * *

 

A man in casual street clothes with a pair of binoculars hanging around his neck on a black strap started strolling away from the Roosterteeth building. He looked like a normal pedestrian, if not a little sunburnt, but if someone had stuck around all day and kept a careful eye, they would have seen this man around for just as long.

He was a block away when he stopped. The man pulled out a cellphone and dialed, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. When his call went through, he said, “Kovic is confirmed to be inside the Roosterteeth building. No sign of Willems, but he is not likely to be far, not when the rest of the office is here.”

A pause. “If they leave, I will follow, but they do not seem to be in any rush.” He listened. “Okay,” he said. “Tomorrow.”


	32. Dangerous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tryin' this new thing where I don't leave stories unfinished, hahaha. Let's get to the end :)

The lights went out.

The entire office was plunged into deep shadows as some of the mutants practiced with James and Adam during a break. Everyone clattered to a stop as they waited for the backup generator to kick the emergency lights on.

The lights didn’t come back on, and Geoff realized that even the exit signs were unlit. People took out their phones only to realize their batteries were completely drained. The frantic clicking of buttons seemed to echo around Geoff in the blindness. In a few minutes their eyes would adjust a bit—already he could make out faint smudges of silhouettes if he tried—but there wasn’t a single source of light.

“Miles?” Geoff said with a sigh. “Could you wait any longer?”

“Oh, right.”

Miles started glowing, his soft yellow light catching faintly on the furniture and people’s faces. He steadily increased the brightness until all of the furniture and appliances around the podcast set could be seen, and everyone could be identified. Michael, Kyle, and Ray squinted in the new light near Miles, still trying to turn their phones on. Adam and James had retreated somewhat towards the other Inside Gaming folk. Jack stepped close to Geoff.

“This is weird,” said Jack. “Geoff—this is really fucking weird.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Geoff said. “It's not like this is how I envisioned our lunch break going.”

“So this doesn’t happen often?” Adam deadpanned from across the room.

“ _No_ ,” Michael snapped. “We have outages of course, but it’s like someone set off a fucking E-M-P.”

“You mean an _emp_ ,” Kyle said. Miles shoved him. The light moved with his arms, flickering over everyone’s faces.

The world shook then, the ground pitching beneath them. They rocked into each other as the room rumbled and rattled, furniture skittering across the floor. Michael lost his footing and crashed to the floor, taking Ray down with him. Geoff stumbled into Jack, but both managed to remain standing. The Inside Gaming men, already seated near the podcast set, braced themselves against the floor.

The rumbling stopped, as sudden as it had begun. Ray shoved Michael off of him, and the two of them unsteadily got back to their feet.

“Was that an earthquake?” Ray asked, his eyes wide in Miles’s light.

“In _Texas?_ ” Jack said incredulously. “We don’t _get_ earthquakes.”

“ _Shh!_ ” Geoff hissed suddenly, and for once everyone shut up. “Do you hear that?”

They could hear someone speaking. It was far away, and the soundwaves had to travel through many walls to get there, so it was quiet and muffled. They couldn’t understand what was being said.

“Is that coming from outside…?” whispered Miles.

“I don’t like this,” said Jack in a low voice.

Footsteps thundered down one hallway. The room held their breath as they approached, and Miles’s light suddenly brightened as two figures rounded the corner.

“ _Ah_ , fuck, _Miles_ ,” snapped the familiar voice of Burnie. “Put it out, it’s just us!”

“Sorry!” Miles said hoarsely, flapping his hands and sucking in a deep breath. “Sorry, I got—you scared us.”

His light dimmed again, and Burnie and Matt lowered their arms from shielding their eyes. Matt scanned the room of mutants before his eyes landed on Geoff, and he snapped his finger and pointed at him.

“Geoff, come with me,” said Matt. “Everyone else, go with Burnie.”

“What? Why, what’s going on?” Geoff asked as Burnie stepped around Matt and started gesturing at the other mutants and ushering Inside Gaming out of the room.

Matt fixed him with a hard stare, and Geoff suddenly realized how stressed Matt was. His body language was tight, refined, and his gestures were blocky like a statue just learning how to move.

“There are people outside,” said Matt. “We have an army in our parking lot.”

* * *

 

Matt wasn’t kidding. Geoff wanted to run and hide for how exposed he felt, standing in front of Studio 5 with nothing to shield him. In fact, he more or less _was_ the shield, which didn’t make it better. He resisted the urge to toggle his indestructability. That ability froze up his joints and made it hard to speak and move, and he was _also_ there to be a representative of Rooster Teeth with Matt. So staring down the several dozen people across the parking lot was that much harder.

And boy was it an army. The leaders of AMO headed the crowd, the rest of the people giving them space so they stood in an oasis. Lily Harlow, her jaw set firm and her ponytail as immaculate as ever, stood flanked by Sheriff Lowell, still in his uniform, and the lawyer Serenity Douglas, in her prim suit.

Two young strangers were with them—a little girl who couldn’t be older than ten, and a boy a few years older whose eyes glowed electric. A few video cameras flashed their lenses at Geoff and Matt, in the hands of a few men. And worst of all—the rest of the crowd was filled up by people in tactical gear, holding various tools and gun-shaped weapons.

Serenity Douglas lifted the megaphone she was holding to her mouth. “We know you have Kovic and Willems. Release them to us.”

Geoff shared a glance with Matt. Matt nodded curtly, and Geoff cupped his hands to his mouth to shout, “No.”

“We don’t have them!” Matt added. “You are trespassing and armed to the teeth.”

“And frankly we’re terrified!” Geoff shouted. “Go away! We’re not doing anything!”

Serenity Douglas paused a moment, the megaphone hovering in front of her lips. Then, she said, “You can’t lie to us. We have eyewitness account that you have them. You are harboring dangerous mutants, and as such are threatening the safety of all. We will ask once again. Release them to us. Or else we will consider you a danger as well.”

“No!” Matt and Geoff replied in unison.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to refuse,” said Douglas. “But here—how about a trade?”

She stepped aside, and the crowd behind her rippled and parted. Someone started shouting protests as an armed person dragged a struggling man to the front of the crowd and shoved him to his hands and knees. Geoff’s heart dropped to his stomach. It was Jeremy. Jeremy jerked his head up to lock eyes with Geoff, and Geoff saw the essence of fear.

“We will let this mutant free—for good—in exchange for Kovic and Willems,” said Douglas.

“They took Matt!” Jeremy cried. “I’m sorry, Geoff—I’m sorry!”

It was insane. The AMO was offering up one person in exchange for two. One innocent man’s freedom in exchange for two innocent men’s incarceration. Geoff couldn’t think of anything to say. The words caught in his throat, and he couldn’t even tear his eyes away from Jeremy to glance at his own Matt. He could _feel_ his brain shutting down.

Until, that is, Ray appeared next to him.

“They’re inside!” Ray said. He stepped towards Geoff, hands lifted as though to grab Geoff’s shoulders and shake him. “They’ve found us and—”

Ray disappeared in the blink of an eye, his words cutting off sharply and echoing around the parking lot.

“Retreat!” Matt cried. “They’ve tricked us!”

Geoff was already sprinting for the entrance when Matt spoke. He was dimly aware of the crowd moving, fanning out, as he and Matt yanked open the door and slipped inside. He was greeted by the dim inside, the lights still extinguished. He guarded Matt as he locked the door, peering into the shadows.

His worst nightmare was coming true.

* * *

 

Ray’s astral projection slammed back into his body, so sudden that he shuddered violently, his spine pushing into the office wall against which he sat. The emergency lights had finally kicked on, swathing the studio in dim light. So, when his eyes snapped open, he could see the large man in combat arm charge him, fist raised. With a shout of terror, Ray threw himself to the floor, the man’s punch whiffing over his head.

Ray began to crawl, his heart beating hard in his throat. Miles was supposed to be guarding him as he warned Geoff and Matt, projecting from someone’s office. Now, not only was he alone, but he knew _exactly_ what was outside.

“C’mere, mutant punk,” snarled the man.

Ray reached the corner of the desk when a hand wrapped around his ankle. The man yanked his leg, and Ray’s hands slipped out from under him as he yelped. His jaw hit the floor as the floor skimmed against his stomach. He rolled onto his back and kicked with his free leg, but the man just laughed and grabbed that ankle too.

The man wrenched on his legs, skidding Ray closer, and before Ray could recover the man dropped to his knees to straddle him. The man grabbed Ray’s arms, pinning him to the floor. Ray squirmed, but the man was heavy. Both wrists were transferred to one hand’s grip, and the man’s now-free hand went to his belt.

“Help!” Ray cried. He had never felt so sure that help was not coming. “Anyone! Plea—”

The man whipped something hard and plastic across Ray’s cheek. Ray gasped, his head snapping to the side, and the man chuckled. “Oh shut up. Help ain’t coming,” he said. “Now you’re coming with me.”

The man held up the hard object, and Ray saw that it was a black collar, hinged and open and ready to go around his neck. His body seemed to give up. He lay there, trapped in this moment, these few seconds, as he saw the end of his career and the beginning of his incarceration as a mutant. This was it. He was done for. Help was not coming.

A torrent of thick, black liquid streamed over Ray’s head, hitting the man square in the chest. Surprised by the attack, the man’s grip loosened and released as he was flung back. The man didn’t even cry out before he smashed against the wall. The sharp smell of ink assaulted Ray’s nose.

Ray scooted back, pushing up on his elbows as he watched the tendril of ink curve back and then lash the man across the face. The man spun with the force and dropped like a stone—out cold. The ink hovered for a moment, then fell to the floor, splashing over the carpet.

A new, ink-stained hand grabbed Ray’s shoulder, and he jumped. “Patrick!”

“Are you okay?” Patrick asked, stepping back and offering his hand. Ray took it, and Patrick hoisted him to his feet. They moved behind the office’s door, hiding from anyone who might be in the hallway.

“I’m—I’m fine,” Ray said in a whisper. His hands shook as he looked at the unconscious man, and he jammed them in his jeans’ pockets. “Patrick that was—amazing, holy fuck.”

“Been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender some,” Patrick said, a grin stretching across his round face. Then his face fell again. “Everyone’s scattered—it’s chaos. I think we’re trying to regroup on the roof. I _think_ that’s what Burnie whispered in my ear as they came.”

“Do you know if anyone…?”

Patrick shook his head, nervously wiping his hands on his plaid shirt. “I didn’t see much. I just hope the people Burnie got out, are _out_.”

Ray nodded. Burnie had been spreading the word of the AMO at their doorstep, instructing people, prioritizing non-mutants, to leave out the back doors. Everything was a mess; Ray and the other mutants had helped spread the word, helped Burnie, but… Well, Ray hoped their building hadn’t been surrounded before most could get out. It was the mutants they were after, but who knew what steps they were willing to take.

“To the roof,” Ray said. “And grab anyone we see.”

* * *

 

Ryan pressed against the wall, his ears straining to listen for any sound of footsteps. He inched along the narrow hall, his eye on the corner ahead of him. He regretted running when the first armored person showed up. He had hid under a desk for a while, listening to the echoes of activity, of shouts and footsteps and clatter. But now he was completely alone. Every nerve ending was alive, every muscle tense. He sensed a few critters, a few birds on the roof, but there was nothing to help him, no animal close enough to talk to. He was torn between hiding under a desk or in a closet, and seeking out allies.

Footsteps tapped from around the corner, and his heart started racing like a horse out of the gate. He searched wildly around him for a place to hid, but this hallway was narrow and had no doors, being between two rows of offices. He backed down the hall, keeping his eye on the corner as his hands began to shake. Even if he managed to connect with an animal far away, he’d be exhausted afterwards…

So when the footsteps turned out to be Geoff and Jack, relief flooded him as he cried out their names.

“ **Hush!** ” Jack snapped, and Ryan’s jaw snapped shut before he could shake off the command.

“Do you want to get us killed?” Geoff hissed as Ryan jogged towards them.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been alone since this mess started…”

“The outside is just as bad,” Geoff said. Ryan sagged as he stared at Geoff. No—they were trapped here? Trapped in the coliseum with hungry lions…? “Jack and I are trying to find people and direct them to the roof. We’ll regroup there and figure out a defense.”

“The—the roof?”

“Since there’s no real official path to the roof,” added Jack, “the AMO doesn’t really know that we can reach it. Gavin and Meg are already there, keeping an eye on the access point. Burnie and Matt, too, though obviously they’re not as helpful. You should get up there as soon as you can.”

“I could help you two,” Ryan said. He wanted to flee, of course, but Jack and Geoff were down here, risking themselves to help the others still inside. He didn’t want to hide away when they were purposefully putting themselves out there.

“No, Ryan,” Geoff said with a sigh. “It’s better if it’s only two of us— _the_ two of us—and you’d be better on the roof. Don’t waste your energy down here. Organize some sort of defense up there, or something.”

Ryan slowly nodded. He was disappointed, but they were right. Outside, he could draw birds or squirrels or something near. Or at least talk to them for reconnaissance. And while he wouldn’t want to make the same mistake he had with the crows—he touched his eyepatch—it would be better than nothing.

“Good luck,” Ryan said.

“You’re not on the roof _yet_ ,” said Jack.

“Go,” said Geoff, shoving Ryan back towards where they had rounded the corner. “If you see anyone else, pass on the message of course. Go to the roof, and be careful!”

Ryan nodded again and turned his back on Geoff and Jack. He had a new, clear direction, and seeing Geoff and Jack had reassured him, in a way. They could get out. No matter how bad the situation could be, there would always be a way to get out.

Ryan started for the roof.

 


	33. I'm a Wanted Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buhhhh, here we go. enjoy.

James backed down the narrow hallway as the man in body armor and helmet approached. He was grinning wickedly; he knew he had the upper hand. He was an indomitable force on the approach, ceaseless, relentless. James was all alone with this man, except for distant noises muted by walls. Oh, _why_ had he run off? He hoped Adam, at least, had stayed with their friends.

The man raised an odd-looking pistol, one with a wide cylindrical barrel and a thick body. James panicked, felt the rush of illusion as he thought quickly and wildly. The man shuddered, then after a second, kept moving forward. James heel caught on the floor as he backed up, and he stumbled.

“You’ve got a lot of learning to do if you think that illusion would fool me,” the man spat.

The man squeezed the trigger, and James instinctively ducked. The weapon made a dull _kerthunk_ sound rather than the sharp pop of a gun, but whatever it shot missed James, and he didn’t care to look around to see what the projectile was. He turned and fled down the hall, turned the corner into some sort of work area with rhythmically arranged desks, and spun to cast another illusion. A fake wall formed to block off the hall.

James took a few steps bask, trying to keep his gasps quiet as he concentrated on his illusion. He heard the man slow to a stop, and then there was another dull firing sound. Something warm struck him in the arm and splashed. It hurt like a paintball and felt like a bruise. He flinched, and the wall disappeared. The projectile looked like black tar, and when he tried to wipe it off his arm, it stuck stubbornly.

The man was approached with a wicked grin, gun raised. James backpedaled and crashed into a desk, its contents rattling and its edge cutting into the back of his thighs. The man paused to speak into a walkie-talkie on his shoulder.

“I’ve got Willems cornered. I’ll be bringing him out soon.”

“Help!” James cried. “Somebody help me!”

The man fired several times. James threw himself to the ground to dodge the weird paintballs. One of the projectiles hit him in the side of his head, and he was unprepared enough that his skull knocked against the desk. He gasped and started to crawl.

The man’s footsteps thundered towards James, and before James could brace himself, a boot flashed in front of his eyes. The man kicked his head. James whited out for a second, his arms giving out beneath him as stars burst across his vision. Groaning, he blinked hard and realized he was on his back, the man standing over him with a foot on his chest.

The man sneered down at him, and pointed his weird gun right between James’s eyes. The barrel was the last thing James saw. He squeezed his eyes shut. The black tar-like substance splashed over his eyes, sticking fast despite his clawing fingers. He was blinded.

Fingers curled in his hair. His roots screamed as the man pulled him up by his hair. He scrabbled against the man, his heels scuffing the floor and his hands seeking relief from the pain on his scalp. The man laughed, low and gruff.

“You’re coming with me, Willems,” he said.

“Get off him!” shouted a voice from across the room. It was husky, loud—it sounded like Michael. The fingers in James’s hair released him, and James thumped back to the floor. He immediately crawled back, his hands seeking the edges of the desk. Then there was a hissing noise, and the man gasped. Something was thrown to the floor.

“Try that again, and it’s your face next time,” Michael spat. He sounded much closer.

The man let out a guttural yell and charged, but then the sound abruptly cut off.

“Woah, nice work, Kyle,” said another voice—Lindsay?

“I’ve never done one that big before,” said a third. “Or—on a human. _Don’t_ expect me to do that again.”

“James,” Michael said. James jumped. Michael was right by his ear. “Are you alright?”

“Been better,” James said with a grimace. “He— _ow—_ kicked my head. And, oh, I don’t know, I can’t see either.”

“Oh shit, yeah, your head’s bleeding. Lindsay, help him up. Kyle—um—keep the guy trapped.”

Hands were on James’s arm now, and he stood unsteadily. He could walk on his own, but without his sight… Lindsay put her hand on the small of his back and guided him in a direction. He matched her pace and hoped he wouldn’t walk into anything. After some half-jogging, James heard a door open and close, and then there were three other bodies in close proximity. The door clicked.

“Uhh…”

“ _Shh_ ,” Michael hissed. “We’re in a closet.”

They waited in silence for several minutes that felt like hours. James’s ears pricked as he heard footsteps thunder by. The door rattled, but it evidently wouldn’t budge. The person gave up and moved on.

“What’s that shit on your face?” Michael whispered.

“I dunno,” James said, trying once again to peel it with his nails. He could get at it a little, but it was stuck hard to his skin. “The guy, his weapon was full of it. I can’t get it off.”

“I can see that,” Michael said. He paused. James could hear him breathing. “It’d be too dangerous for me to try to melt it off. Even if I reduced the acidity, I could get your eyes and do some damage. _Stop_ fucking pulling at it; you’ll lose your eyebrows.”

“Oh no, not my eyebrows,” James said, but his quip lacked energy. He stopped picking at it though.

“I bet we could get rid of it with acetone,” said Kyle. “That removes superglue from skin, maybe it would work on this.”

“Cool, Kyle, let me just pull this bottle of nail polish remover out of my ass and dab it on his eyes,” Lindsay said.

“The props department has some,” Kyle insisted. “For shit like supergluing your fingers together.”

“Quiet,” Michael hissed, and they all fell silent again. He sighed. “Thought I heard something. We gotta keep moving, they’ll probably double check this closet at some point, and they probably won’t let a little lock get in their way then.”

“But where do we go?” Kyle whispered. “The whole place is crawling…”

“Fuck, man,” Michael breathed. “I don’t fucking know. We need to regroup somewhere.”

“But anywhere we go, they’ll probably find,” Lindsay said.

“The prop department sounds like a good place,” James suggested. He would very much like to see again. Michael sighed again.

“That’s a little far,” he said. “And I don’t think we’re the right people to get you there.”

“I can go alone,” Lindsay said. “I can sneak over there to get the acetone.”

Michael considered it for about 0.2 seconds. “I don’t want you to go,” he said. “At least, not alone. Even if you stick to the shadows, they might have heat sensors. I don’t want you to get caught again.”

His voice strained on the last bit, and James’s shoulders felt heavy. He didn’t want to split these people up for _his_ sake. Risk getting one of them caught. The knowledge that it was his and Adam’s presence that brought the AMO here exhausted James. He didn’t want to make them suffer.

“You don’t have to,” James said. “Please don’t risk your lives for me.”

A pause. “James,” said Michael. “Don’t be fucking stupid.”

“But they only want me and—”

“They want _all_ of us,” Michael said simply. “They’re using you and Adam as an excuse to use this kind of force. But we’ve been on their radar for a while. They just haven’t had a reason to do this before.”

The door rattled again. James stopped breathing, until he heard a whined “Fu-u-uck” that was unmistakably Geoff. Someone next to him moved, and the door flung open.

“Oh shit!— _Michael!_ You’re all okay!”

“Geoff, Jack, good to see you,” Michael said. “Are you guys alright?”

“Guy tried to shoot me,” Geoff said, “but Jack made him dismantle his gun. You guys gotta get out of here.”

“We _know,_ ” Michael said. “Geoff, can you and Jack take James to the prop department? He’s got stuff on his eyes and we think acetone might get it off.”

“You’re not putting fucking _acetone_ on his eyelids,” Jack said.

“Oh fuck, he’s bleeding. Hold on.” James felt a rough hand grasp his arm, and a warm buzzing spread up to his head, numbing it—healing it. The hand released. “We’ll—we’ll figure something out. Get yourselves to the roof. That’s where we’re meeting up—the whole place is surrounded outside.”

“Is… anyone…?” Kyle started hesitantly.

“And Adam?” James prompted.

There was a heavy silence. “We’re not sure,” said Jack. “We’re just trying to find as many people as we can right now. We’ll worry about who might’ve been taken later. Now go—and be careful.”

A pair of footsteps ran off. James realized he was picking at the tar-like substance again and stopped. “Uhh, how do we get to the roof.”

“We’ve got some climbing to do,” Lindsay said grimly. “We’re not really meant to be up there, but we can get there.”

James’s heart began to race. “You—you know I can’t see…”

“You can do it,” Michael said. “We’ll guide you. But we have to go fucking _now_. Come on!”

* * *

 

Ray and Patrick slipped through the door and shut it behind them, only for the darkness to deepen to impenetrable black.

“ _Kerry_ ,” Ray snapped. “It’s us—it’s me and Patrick!”

The shadows seeped away, and the Achievement Hunter office melted into discernable shapes in the emergency lighting. Their rolling chairs were all clumped together in front of a couple of their desks. Ray and Patrick hurried over and ducked under the desks, scooching behind the chairs to find Kerry and Caleb.

“Kerry,” said Ray. “What the fuck.”

“Well _I_ didn’t _know_ ,” Kerry said. At another time, Kerry might have been more light in his tone, more joking. But the whites of his eyes gleamed in the dim, and his hands picked at the carpet

“This isn’t even a good hiding spot, it’s _fucking obvious_.”

Patrick put a hand on Ray’s shoulder. “How long have you guys been hiding here?”

“I’ve been here basically since the lights went out,” Caleb said. “Kerry came in soon after.”

“I didn’t know where else to go,” Kerry said. “I thought maybe some of you guys might come here, too, but…”

“I can’t get a good view of outside the room,” Caleb said. “What few surfaces are out there are too dark. We’ve been too scared to leave.”

“ _We_ almost got into another fight,” Patrick said, “but I think we got away. It’s definitely not safe to be wandering around.”

“Apparently people are going to the roof,” Ray said. “I can jump ahead and see if the coast is clear.”

“Are—are you sure?” Kerry whispered.

Ray opened his mouth, then paused. He held up a finger. “One sec.”

He hunched over and closed his eyes. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but he could manage. He projected up to the roof, floating inches above its gentle slope. He appeared in the middle of a small seated group of people, some of whom jumped and slapped hands to their mouths to stifle their shouts. Matt and Burnie were up there, as was Blaine, Joel, and two of the Inside Gaming guys—Spoole and Bruce, Ray remembered. Gavin and Meg were closer to one edge of the roof, and Ray breathed a sigh of relief to see that they—and everyone else present—were okay.

Burnie didn’t waste any time with formalities. “What’s your status?”

“I’m hiding with a couple other people,” Ray said quickly. “We’re gonna start moving soon, but I wanted to check if people were actually up here.”

“Who?” Burnie asked.

“Patrick, Kerry, and Caleb. Patrick and I nearly got caught twice, but we haven’t seen anyone else. Well…”

“Well _what_ ,” Matt prompted.

Ray glanced at the edge of the roof. “When I warned you and Geoff about the intruders, I had been with Miles. When I woke up, he was gone. You haven’t heard or seen…?”

Matt shook his head and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, we’ve heard nothing.”

“You should go,” said Burnie. “Keep an eye out for others, but look after yourselves first. Get to the roof, and _don’t_ let the intruders know that’s your goal.”

“Duh,” said Ray. He waved a lazy salute, and woke up back at his office.

Kerry spoke low in his ear. “You can’t expect to sit down and fall asleep every time we need to look around a corner.”

Ray shivered. He would have to project while still partially conscious. He hadn’t even tried since—since the caffeine incident. Then, it had been painful, disorienting. He set his mouth in a hard line. But now he had to do it. He _had_ to.

“I just need you to hold me up every once in a while. I can do it.”

“Fine,” said Caleb. “I’ll support you. Now let’s go.”

* * *

 

They were cornered, huddled against where two walls met with a sturdy office desk blocking them off on a third side. Adam and the rest of Inside Gaming were trying to stay as quiet as possible, but the armored men still found them. A man with a pistol—and honest to god pistol—with his two buddies keeping a lookout with a taser each.

“Alright, Kovic,” said the man with the pistol. “Come with us if you don’t want you are your friends to get hurt.”

It was only by miracle that Adam wasn’t shaking. Peake rested a hand on his arm, but everyone else was silent. Adam didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t go back to those cold cells, those “training sessions.” If he went back, he knew he would break. But if he didn’t go back, then his friends would get hurt. He couldn’t stand to see Peake hurt, or Spoole or Joel or Bruce or even Lawrence.

And then Lawrence was standing in front of them all, arms outstretched as he stared the man with the pistol down. The man sighed, but didn’t lower his pistol.

“Move,” he said. “Give us Kovic now, or I will consider you a danger and shoot.”

Adam couldn’t see Lawrence’s face, but his heart was going a million miles a minute. Lawrence’s hands were trembling, but he stood with his feet set solidly apart, unmoving. He couldn’t stand Lawrence’s action. It made him feel sick to his stomach. Peake squeezed his arm, and some of the nausea abated, but only just.

“Lawrence, please,” Adam said, his voice low and tired. “It’s not worth it.”

The man grinned and gestured with his pistol. “You heard Kovic. Give us him, and we’ll let you and the other humans go.”

“Absolutely not,” Lawrence said. “It’s my fault he was subjected to your _torture_ before, and I’m not going to let you take him again if I—”

The man sighed and rolled his eyes. He jerked his pistol a little to the side, and then there was a small flash and a loud bang. Lawrence flinched and cried out, hunching his shoulders. The others were too stunned, too petrified to move. Lawrence pressed a hand to his shoulder and when it came away, there was blood, so much blood, so much red. Adam felt like vomiting. He felt light-headed.

Lawrence straightened again. He was trembling all over, and he let his arm hang by his side, but still he stood.

“You’re not taking my friend,” Lawrence said.

Adam felt a warmth settle in his stomach. He seemed to suddenly transcend nausea and felt like his heart swelled in his chest. He closed his eyes and, despite everything, felt a certain peace, a certain tranquility. He couldn’t explain it. But what he could explain was a need to stop Lawrence, to protect him as Lawrence was protecting him now.

Adam stood.

“Enough,” he said. Lawrence glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide. Adam put a hand on Lawrence’s good shoulder and gently pulled him back.

“Seeing reason, Kovic?” taunted the man with the pistol.

“Yep,” said Adam. And then he charged.

He didn’t really have a plan. He had no extra energy, didn’t have the time or skill to sneakily acquire it from ambient heat. But the distance between him and the man was short enough that Adam hoped he might get the jump on him.

Adam saw the flash of the gun’s muzzle and flinched, bracing for pain. Instead, strength surged through his muscles as the bullet clinked to the floor, squashed against his collarbone. He didn’t know how, but he had taken all of its kinetic energy at once, all of its heat, and the bullet spun away cold and its tip blunted. Heat waves poured out of Adam’s skin, and he didn’t think too hard about his actions. He raised a fist and slammed it right in the man’s chest.

Adam heard something crack behind the bulletproof vest, and the man flew across the room, crash landing on his back on top of one of the desks. Papers flew everywhere, electronics and figurines cracked and flipped away. The man lay still. The other two men reacted too slowly. Adam grabbed one and swung him into the other, and they collapsed together across the room as well.

Adam turned back to Inside Gaming, his friends staring at him, Lawrence pressing his hand against his wound. He inhaled deeply and released his excess energy.

“Adam…” Lawrence whispered.

“I don’t know how I did that,” Adam said. “Don’t expect me to do it again.”

“It’s time to go,” Peake said, before the conversation could go on longer. He stood up. “Hiding in one spot is not a good option.”

“But where do we go?” Bruce asked, still sitting on the floor. He hugged his knees and stared at Adam. “There’s too many people… I thought Rooster Teeth was supposed to be safe…”

“Hey! Are you guys okay? I heard gunshots.”

Across the room, Ryan had come down one of the hallways connected to the office. He crept towards them, his eyes sweeping over the three unconscious men, the partially destroyed desk, Lawrence’s wound and bloody fingers. Ryan’s face was pale as he approached them.

“We’re fine for now,” Lawrence said. He was still trembling, but the panic was over.

“Then come with me to the roof,” Ryan said. “We’re meeting up there. Let’s move quickly, I’m sure others are on their way. I’ve already had to double back twice on my way here.”

Adam glanced back at his friends. James was missing, but he had to have faith that he would be okay. Adam felt responsibility for the rest of Inside Gaming, and felt fierce protectiveness over Lawrence at this moment. He clenched a hand into a tight fist. He would protect them all on their way to the roof. When he looked back at Ryan, Ryan jumped at his expression.

“Let’s go,” Adam said.


	34. We Will Not Go Quietly

Michael helped pull Ray onto the roof, then Ray turned around and heaved Patrick up behind him. They both grabbed Kerry’s hand when he appeared. Caleb was not far behind, and when all four of them were safely up on the roof, Ray sat back with a heavy sigh and massaged his temples. Gavin scrabbled up behind them, breathing hard and coming up from his guard post at the window from which they crawled.

“Headache?” Michael asked Ray.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Ray said.

“Ray had to project while still partially conscious several times for us to get here,” Caleb said. Michael frowned at Ray, but Ray missed the expression as he rubbed his eyes. Caleb continued, “There didn’t seem to be as many. They might be clearing out. Is… Is this everyone?”

Michael turned to follow Caleb’s gaze. The rest of Achievement Hunter and Kyle sat huddled with the Inside Gaming crowd—everyone in Achievement Hunter, including Geoff and Jack, had reached the roof in one piece. Lawrence’s shirt was soaked in blood, but whatever injury he had sustained, Michael assumed Geoff had taken care of it. Matt and Burnie sat away from them all, side by side and staring at the edge of the roof. Of the mutants in the company, Joel, Blaine, and Miles were missing. The only non-mutants seemed to be the Inside Gaming men.

“Seems like it,” Michael said. He tried to dig his fingernails into the gently sloping roofing, but he couldn’t make a dent. He resisted letting the acid well up through his pores. “I only got here a few minutes ago…”

Cheering arose from the parking lot. Ray winced, and Michael caught Gavin’s wide eyes.

“They’ve been noisy almost the whole time,” Gavin whispered. “This is the third time they’ve cheered, though.”

“What are they doing?”

Gavin shook his head. “We’ve been too nervous to look. We don’t want to lose our only hiding spot.”

Michael looked to Ryan, but Ryan sighed before he could even ask.

“The birds aren’t helping here. The crows refuse to work with me, and the other birds don’t have the capacity to understand what’s going on.”

Michael crawled to the edge of the roof. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, but no one said another word. He crept closer and peeked over the edge to the parking lot below.

More and more armed men were trickling out of the building to rejoin the crowd. A clump of Rooster Teeth employees were off to the side, huddled together against the fence and loosely guarded. They were not mutants, and therefore of no use to the AMO, but they weren’t allowed to escape. The sheriff Lowell was dancing from foot to foot, his laughter booming over the rest of the thin crowd’s tittering.

“We got another one!” he shouted, punching a fist into the air. He reached towards the two guards standing in front of him and yanked a third person forward. Michael’s breath caught in his throat. Joel stumbled under Lowell’s hand, his own hands bound at the wrist behind his back. Michael couldn’t see Joel’s face, but he easily imagined Joel scowling at the AMO members around him as he slouched.

Lowell was still being loud, and his voice carried. The two women near him, Dr. Harlow and Serenity Douglas, each put a hand on their face and shook their heads at his show of elation.

“Wonder what this one can do, eh? What is it, mutant? What do you do?”

Lowell taunted Joel until the two armed men who had escorted him grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him towards three people sitting on the ground. Michael’s heart dropped. With their hands tied too, a half-circle of armed people guarding them, Miles, Blaine, and Jeremy watched Joel get elbowed towards them.

“They’ve got Joel,” Michael rasped. “And Blaine and Miles. Other non-mutants are off to the side. They’re fine but guarded.”

Geoff swore under his breath behind Michael. Gavin let out a soft whine. Ray whispered “no,” in such a tone that Michael glanced over his shoulder to see his face. Ray _radiated_ fury. Michael could practically feel the rage rolling off of Ray, even though the only outward hints of it was a barely contained stillness and wide, flat eyes.

Surprisingly, it was Peake from Inside Gaming who spoke next. “Everyone,” he said. “Calm down. There’s still time to think.”

Michael felt a little of his panic edge away, and he stared at Peake. “You,” he said. “You’re a fucking mutant, too.”

Peake flinched as the Inside Gaming crowd gasped, trying to keep their exclamations quiet.

“What!?” James said, clawing once more at the black gunk over his eyes. “Peake—”

“He told me earlier today,” Peake said, pointing over at Matt. Matt nodded, his mouth in a tight line. “Said I have… a little influence over other people’s emotions.”

“Jesus, Peake,” said Bruce. “That’s awesome.” Peake shrugged and stared at his lap as he toyed with the hem of his shirt.

“I do what I can.”

Peake’s friends were edging towards him, eager to discuss this more, but then a cry arose from the parking lot. Michael felt a chill fall over him.

“They’re on the roof, up there!”

As Michael turned to watch, the little girl, at the instruction of Dr. Harlow, knelt down and pressed her palms against the asphalt.

“Michael,” Adam hissed. “Get away from the edge. The girl, her ability…”

The earth rumbled. The girl’s hands sunk into the asphalt, and the ground in front of her split and heaved. Hands the size of compact cars with snake-like arms lifted from the parking lot, made of solid earth, crumbled slabs of asphalt clinging to its surface like skin lesions. Michael stared, frozen, as the hands rose for the roof, one of them extending for him, thick fingers reaching. His brain registered it in slow motion. He couldn’t even try to get away.

The roof crunched behind Michael. A shadow flitted over his face. Adam leapt from the roof as though from a springboard, denting the roof, his fist drawn back as he radiated heat. He slammed a punch straight into the rock hand’s palm. The hand shattered, dirt and asphalt showering over Michael and a part of the roof. The girl screamed.

The second hand swept through the air, snatching Adam before he could crash back to the roof. The only sound Adam made was a grunt as the air flew out of his lungs. The hand dwarfed him, encompassed him up to his shoulders. Adam’s head hung limp as the earthy hand glided away from the building.

“Adam!” James screamed, blindly reaching towards the edge of the roof. Bruce had a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in his spot next to a new dent in the roof. “What happened! Did the girl—?”

Michael launched to his feet, his toes only a pace away from the edge. He clenched his fists around the faint sizzle of acid. One of the girl’s arms was still plunged into the ground, but her other was completely covered in fresh yellow bruises.

“Let him go!” he shouted, his voice scratching hoarsely over his throat. “He’s not yours!”

The giant hand hovered, tantalizing. Adam stirred, his head lolling.

Serenity Douglas, with all the grace of a lawyer, put a megaphone to her lips and said, “And what, is he _yours?_ You saw what he just did. He’s a danger to society. We merely wish to ensure that he’s not.”

“Michael,” Jack whispered from behind him. Jack stepped up beside him. “Keep them talking.”

Michael glanced over his shoulder. Ray and Geoff were sitting cross-legged facing each other, as Ray’s eyes were close and Geoff was lightly holding both of Ray’s hands. Ryan crouched near them as he stared back at Michael, his eyebrows drawn together in concern. The others remained scattered across the roof—Gavin next to Meg, the Inside Gaming people still grouped together.

Adam shook his head and wriggled against the tight fist. “Oh god,” he wheezed. “I’m—I’m…” His wide eyes found Michael, and Michael saw the pure terror. Michael wished that his ability was different. He wished he could telekinesis this bitch and save Adam from being returned to that facility. He wished he could do _anything._ He felt useless.

“Let him go!” Jack roared. “You make everything _worse!_ ”

“Why don’t you just command us to let him go?” Douglas taunted.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to,” Jack replied.

Michael gritted his teeth and felt acid surge through his bloodstream. He twisted, holding his hand back like he was about to chuck a baseball. He hurled his hand forward, shooting a splash of acid at the earthen arm as he cried, “ _You let him go, you monsters!_ ”

Michael wasn’t entirely sure what happened next at first. He watched the acid lob through the air, saw it cling to some of the giant arm. The arm twitched as though mildly bothered by a mosquito. Then, Michael felt electricity vibrate through him, and he heard a bang like thunder that made his ears ring. He barely felt his back hit the roof as his muscles shook with spasms. The shouting around him sounded dim around his ringing ears. The second mutant, standing next to the little girl, had hit him with the electricity he had stolen from Studio 5.

Jack and Lindsay were by his side before he could get his bearings again. He struggled to sit up, Lindsay’s hand on his back. His tongue felt thick and dry in his mouth. He looked up in time to see the hand of earth jerk back, and toss Adam—back towards the roof, but at such a height that he was sure Adam wouldn’t survive unscathed. His breath caught. He wasn’t sure Adam’s ability would protect him here.

Time seemed to slow as Adam fell. His screams ripped through the parking lot and the roof of Studio 5.

* * *

 

Even in the Astral Plane, Ray felt Geoff’s hands on his, just a faint remembrance of touch. He wasn’t being healed—not yet. Geoff’s healing was for… later. He spawned in front of the glowing crystal ocean that separated this Plane from the Earthly one and blinked in its bright light. He spun around to face the crystal spheres above, twinkling like stars across the vast expanse of boulder-filled shimmering space.

Ray took a deep breath and tried to steady his trembling hands. To say he was scared was to make an understatement. But he couldn’t turn back. If ever there was a time to try this, it was now. He glared at the celestial spheres and started flying.

It didn’t take long for the first Nightmare to appear. Ray felt a vine-like tendril wrap around his ankle and yank. The celestial spheres seemed to shrink as Ray was pulled back towards the crystal ocean behind him. Ray twisted and kicked, dislodging the golden vine around his ankle. The vine retreated back, disappearing into the crystal ocean. Ray shivered and floated away, putting more distance between him and the ocean.

He drifted through a cloud of golden dust. He choked, darting away as the dust burst away from him and reformed to a humanoid shape. It reached for him, its hand shivering and dissipating and reforming. Ray rubbed his throat. He didn’t have time for this. He didn’t have time for Nightmares. He ignored the anthropomorphic dust cloud and shot for the celestial spheres.

He flew faster than he had dared go before in the Astral Plane. He narrowly swept around a large boulder and slipped past reaching Nightmare hands. He didn’t slow until he reached the crystalline divider between the Astral Plane and the celestial spheres. He didn’t hesitate. He slapped both hands against the crystal and pushed, pushed, pushed, until his hands sunk. Inch by inch, his hands sunk deeper. His skin tingled where it touched the crystal.

The stars trapped in their spheres orbited over him until one finally stopped in front of him. Ray grinned without mirth.

“Got your attention, didn’t I?” he growled.

Hot electricity flowed through his hands. The warmth comforted, and the warmth stung a thousand stings. It concentrated at his lower back and flowed down the cord connecting him to his body. Geoff’s healing kicked in, coating his cord in cool silver. He felt Geoff in their shared mind space, shared his pain. Ray started to laugh. If he didn’t laugh, he would scream.

But this light was theirs, now. His. The celestial spheres wanted to use him, but he would use them. He laughed, tears rolling down his cheek, and he wrestled. On the Earthly Plane, golden light poured out of every orifice like a flashlight had been lit in his and Geoff’s head. A few seconds later, the light melted into a pure violet, and Ray’s physical form grinned.

Their awareness expanded in an explosion of golden and violet particles of light like dust. They were aware of Adam falling, were aware of Michael on his back, were aware of every person in the parking lot. Aware of the blood starting to trickle from their nose. They didn’t move as they caught Adam, the dust swirling around him and stopping his fall, scooping him back onto the roof.

Holding hands, they stood. They saw what Ray saw, what Geoff saw, and what the celestial spheres saw. Ray reached out a hand to Ryan. Geoff reached out a hand to Gavin.

“Help,” they said, their words working in unison. “Before it becomes too much for the two of us.”

The Achievement Hunters lurched into action as the others looked on, speechless. Ryan grabbed Ray’s free hand, and Gavin took Geoff’s. Their minds linked in, followed soon by Michael, Lindsay, and Jack. Each mind brought something different. Gavin’s touch was squirrelly and darting; Ryan’s mind was heavy, clever but feeding in animalistic surges. Michael’s mind was aggressive like a sword, and his anger flowed through everyone. Lindsay was confused, but she and Jack kept their focus

Ray took charge before the seven different trains of thought could overwhelm them. He acted as a focal point, shoved the other six minds back so they weren’t so loud. Together, they shared the energy of the celestial spheres, like a volcano erupting. Light shimmered around them, and they were aware of the tittering crowd below. What was going on? What was that light? The people behind them asked similar questions.

They stepped up to the edge of the roof. They felt guns aim towards their bodies. They saw the AMO members speaking, heard the video cameras flash their lenses upwards. Their different abilities shaped and influenced the celestial energy. The dust, the light, took on shapes above them, like some sort of herald, the images nearly as tall as the building. A tiger dripping acid from its mouth. A humanoid with four arms. A shivering dome that pulsated with every sound.

The dust hung in the air like snow. It flowed around the roof’s occupants. It melted the black material covering James’s eyes and popped the dent Adam left in the roof out so that the roof showed no damage. The sky seemed to darken for its brilliance. The air was hot, hot, like a sweltering summer. They stood at the edge, opened their mouths in unison and spoke as one.

“ _We are mutants_ ,” they said. “ _And we will not be your targets any longer_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize that this was kinda like Guardians of the Galaxy until right before I hit the post button. Anyway.... Hope you enjoyed the chapter~


	35. Human

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, uh, usually I give a chapter or two's warning that the end is approaching. But it, uh, approached much sooner than I anticipated. I'll save my usual sappiness for the epilogue though. Enjoy!

It felt like dreaming. The purple and gold—mostly purple—dust spilled down the edge of the building like glittery fog machine, threaded thick tendrils towards and around the armed men guarding the innocent Rooster Teeth employees. The non-mutant employees huddled together, even tighter than they were before, and the guards raised their weapons. But the energy of the celestial spheres was undeterred. At first one by one, then all at once, the guards fell down. Alive, but as though knocked unconscious, or put to sleep.

Some bullets were fired, of course. At the dust, at the Achievement Hunters. The dust caught them, fizzled the bullets out, dissolved them as they left purple bubble trails like discarded sound waves. All the while, shapes, humanoid, organic, inorganic drifted in and out of identifiability in the dust that hung in the air like motes in sunlight. The dust clung to the armed people’s weapons, dissolving them into petals where they were, and then those petals dissipated as well.

The celestial energy pooled underneath the four captured mutants in the parking lot, lifted them up on a cloud of dust which then drifted up towards the roof. The seven Achievement Hunters’ minds were one, but of several components, and found multitasking a simple action. Jeremy, Joel, Blaine, and Miles all were whisked away to the roof and gently placed next to Burnie and Matt.

“Are you getting this?” Douglas gushed to the nearest cameraman, who nodded so fiercely that his whole body bobbed.

The burning, burning, that they had together pushed back, spreading it amongst themselves like a volcano relieving pressure with extra fissures, surged. The heat seared so hot that their visions turned white for a moment. As one, they staggered, their chests heaved. Ryan and Gavin felt their hands unclench—they all did. The earth quaked, briefly. Neither Ryan nor Gavin initiated letting go; Ray forced them away, mentally stepped forward as a beacon and outshone them all. When Ryan and Gavin let go, the connection was broken for everyone except for Ray and Geoff.

The rest fell back, stumbled, and were pushed back by _something._ They were knocked on their asses; if anyone had been standing, a force whaled them in the stomach and shoved them down. Ray and Geoff were the only ones left standing. Ryan struggled to stand, but it was like a rope was tying him down around his middle. The dust pulsated, and Ryan thought there was the amount of gold was increasing.

And then, a few seconds after the rest of them disconnected, Geoff let go. Ray’s eyes, which had been burning purple, now burned gold, and all of the purple in the air melted into gold. Energy burst outward like the rings of Saturn, shoving Geoff back as Ray rose into the air. Ray’s mouth was wrenched open, but only whispers were heard. The force around Ryan’s middle lessened, and he scrambled to his feet, hurriedly wiping at the blood around his mouth and nose.

“Geoff!” Ryan cried. “What’s he doing!? What’s happening?”

Geoff shook his head and put his face in his hands. The sky darkened with broiling clouds that appeared out of nowhere. The earth quaked again, rattling the roof. Anyone in the parking lot who was still standing stumbled. “He asked me to trust him,” said Geoff. Ryan planted his feet, steadied himself on the shaking roof. Geoff looked wearily up at him. “And I let go.”

“He’s going to die.” Ryan swept his gaze over the others. Their wide eyes mirrored his own. His gaze landed on Burnie and they stared at each other. “He’ll die.”

“I know,” Geoff said.

“I can’t stop him,” Burnie said, his voice scratching tight and high. “He’s too high, I can’t…”

A sound like thunder, and cracks appeared in the parking lot. Like some B-grade horror movie, the asphalt tilted, split, as golden liquid flumed up like erupting lava. The earth shook so bad that most people fell down. Ryan braced himself, his heart beating in this throat, his eyes watering as he stared at Ray. Ray was completely enveloped in gold, and though his screams were still whispers, they threaded images, memories, senses, pain, around them all. And finally, the parking lot started to descend—no, Studio 5 was being raised.

The cracks had formed around the main building, and now the earth pushed up, up. Slowly, like a hand-cranked pulley, asphalt splintering, a steep slope began to elevate Studio 5. Gold pulsated around them. The people in the parking lot were all on the ground, unable to stand while the ground heaved. Ryan reached out to the tiger, initiated contact even though he had never initiated before. He reached. _Please._ Reaching. The tiger responded in kind, and lent him strength once more before disconnecting.

Ryan bared his teeth, adrenaline and strength coursing through his muscles. He paused, pushing his feet into the roof as he prepared his run, and felt the metal dent underneath his heel. Then, he did what he could do best.

He charged. He reached the edge of the roof and leaped, the metal crumpling under his feet. He launched off the roof, soaring through the golden dust to collide solidly into Ray. The dust didn’t seem to know what to do with him; it didn’t push him back, but let him glide right through. His stomach slammed into Ray’s back, and he wrapped his arms around Ray’s chest and shoulders.

Ryan’s extra weight jerked Ray down, like a stumble but fifty feet in the air, before the celestial energy caught them and steadied them. But Ryan squeezed tightly, and his collision jerked Ray further from the celestial influence. Ray gasped a coughing gasp, and squirmed underneath Ryan’s arms. But it wasn’t enough—they weren’t falling anymore.

“Burnie!” Ryan roared. “Do it!”

His borrowed energy began to rapidly deplete—faster than it naturally decays. When he glanced back, Burnie stood at the edge of the roof, his hand outstretched towards Ryan and Ray. They slipped down further in the air, in jerks and spurts. And then, Ray grabbed at Ryan’s arms with his bare hands, and fire seared Ryan’s mind. Images flashed against his eyelids as Ray began to shriek. Images of stars, of gold, of space, of creation. The celestial energy wanted him gone, wanted Ryan gone. Hot wrath flooded into him. But, like his borrowed energy, it was rapidly depleting.

Ryan dragged Ray down, down, and they touched down to sit on the asphalt of the parking lot. Ray squirmed, but Ryan held on. The celestial heat faded, but Ray’s screams carried their dying strength. He shrieked the smell of smoky gunpowder, intense antiseptic, and the perfumed scent of roses; he shrieked the feel of cool steel, of needle pinpricks, of a sun-warmed bench under thighs; he shrieked the taste of unsweetened black coffee, the metallic taste of blood, of moist dirt. No one who heard it all couldn’t explain it later, how such banshee cries carried the different senses.

And then Ray coughed, heaved for breath, and the golden dust faded completely. Ryan held on, now more for comfort than for safety, held Ray basically in his lap. Ray couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He coughed and coughed, blood flecking past his teeth, as he clutched wearily at Ryan, rested his head against Ryan’s chest.

“I—I, um…” Ray managed between breaths. Weariness weighed heavily on Ryan’s shoulders. After the rush of the tiger’s energy, he was fading fast. Ray blinked up at him as though the action caused him pain. “You—you weren’t wearing this shirt before. It’s all covered in…”

Some of Ray’s blood had smeared onto the front of Ryan’s shirt, and some of Ryan’s own blood had dripped onto his collar. Ray touched his own upper lip with trembling fingers, and his eyes widened when they came away red. He winced then, and clutched at his temples.

“Ooh,” he moaned. “My head hurts, and I—I can’t seem to remember your name.”

Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. “You don’t remember…?”

Ray shook his head, his palms still pressing into his skull. “I know who you are. I know how old you are, what you can do. But I can’t—think of your fucking _name_.”

“I’m—Ryan Haywood. Ray, what date do you think it is?”

“Ryan…” Ray repeated, but the name sounded new to his tongue. He then said a date from two weeks ago.

Ryan shook his head. “You’ve… straight up lost the last two weeks.”

“Are you alright down there!?” Burnie called from above. “Is Ray okay?”

Ray noticed the building for the first time and saw how the earth newly bulged up ten feet as though a mountain had started to form but gave up early on. Ray touched his upper lip again and sniffed. Ryan could feel him shaking like a terrified dog.

“Ryan, what did I do?”

“A grand show you put on for us!” Serenity Douglas proclaimed, her footsteps ringing across the dead silent parking lot as she strode towards them. She and her fellow AMO leaders, Lowell and Harlow, as well as the little girl and teenage mutant all steadily approached. “All recorded as proof to your dangerous tendencies.”

She marched right up to Ryan and Ray, fearless—perhaps because she knew they were both burned out. Raw, fear-based adrenaline was the only thing keeping Ryan alert right now; even then, his head felt heavy.

“And you!” cried Dr. Harlow suddenly, pointing up to Burnie where he stood at the edge of the roof. “Dr. Lehrer was right! _There_ is our mutant, our key to a cure. The one who nullifies powers!”

_Move,_ Ryan thought desperately. _Run._ His legs refused to respond to the idea of standing up, and Ray wasn’t going anywhere either. They were going to be captured again, and this time it would be right in front of their friends.

“You can’t take us,” Ryan said weakly. “You don’t have any right!”

Douglas smirked. “Legally, we can. See, the law isn’t sure if you’re human or not, and it’s to all our benefit to argue that you are not.”

“We’ll make you normal soon enough,” Harlow said, cool and sweet like a mother to errant children. “With that man’s blood, we _should_ be able to counter anyone’s mutations.”

If Harlow wanted to say anything more, she cut herself off with her own shriek. Ryan heard two solid thumps behind him, as the three AMO leaders and their two mutants took a step back. He twisted around in time to see Geoff and Adam let Matt and Jack, respectively, climb down from their backs after jumping down from the roof.

“If you say a word,” Douglas warned Jack, waving a finger at him. “My guards will…”

“Do what?” Jack said, crossing his arms. “Half of them are unconscious, and the rest have no weapons. You have these two mutants here, but we’re not fighting them. They’re victims you’ve molded into your little tools.”

The little girl looked up at the young man, whose eyes no longer glowed with electricity. He shrugged, but looked deep in thought.

“You can’t control us!” Lowell demanded, stomping his foot and balling his hands into meaty fists.

“I can, but I won’t,” said Jack. “I’m only here to stop you if you turn violent again.”

Ray sighed and shivered, and Ryan suddenly felt like he was a fish in a bowl, and the people talking over him and Ray were arguing over ownership. Ray curled up on himself, pushing the side of his head into Ryan’s chest as he groaned.

“You’re not getting Burnie’s blood,” Matt said firmly. “He’s not voluntarily giving it.”

“But you’re arguably not human,” Douglas said, crossing her arms. “That rule _only_ applies to humans.”

“We each have hundreds of videos on the internet where we are plenty human,” Geoff said. “If we were human before our abilities showed up, why aren’t we human now?”

“But isn’t it what you want?” Harlow argued. She looked directly at Adam. “A return to normalcy? With that man’s blood, we can…”

“Lady, believe me,” Adam said. “Those times were nice. These times aren’t always easy because of our abilities, and because of _you._ But it’s who we are. Spending time with these other mutants has shown me the good side as well as the bad.”

“And we will fight you every step of the way if you continue like this,” Matt said. “You’ve driven us to the desperate measures you’ve seen today, when all we’ve wanted is to be able to care for our own.” The cameraman had snuck up behind the AMO leaders, and Matt fixed the lens with a stern eye. “You brought the fight to us, today. Had you not, none of this today would have happened. We would be working our jobs, and helping train the mutants you’ve harmed to learn about and control their abilities. And after that we would return to our families and prepare for another day of work tomorrow. We will _still_ do that last part.”

“Whatever it is you call help _hurts_ us,” Geoff added with a scowl. “You say you’re training us, protecting us from ourselves and from the world at large. Well we’ve seen your facilities, and some of us have been _in_ them. You teach mutants to fear their abilities, and that’s how you _control_ them.”

“All we want is to be able to be the ones to take care of mutants,” Matt said. “ _We_ will teach mutants how to understand their abilities.”

“And what of the contributions to science?” Harlow shot back. She pointed at Geoff. “With _your_ blood we can create healing serums…”

“But you’re _not_ ,” Geoff said. “The first thing you did was try to cure us, and that nearly killed one of us!”

“And why aren’t you in the hospitals all the time!” Lowell shouted. “In the ER healing people like it’s nothing!”

“What are you, still trying to make me seem like a bad person?” Geoff snapped. “Do you hold the world’s best surgeon to those same standards? Why isn’t he in every operating room? Why does he take vacation, or sleep at night?”

Harlow seemed cowed, and she stepped back. Her colleagues did not show the same reaction, and stubbornly gritted their teeth.

“You have lost here, today,” Matt declared. “Now get off of our property, and never return. Should you try, we will rebuff you again.”

Ray felt heavy against Ryan suddenly, and he realized the lad had fallen unconscious. Ryan, too, could barely keep his head up. He blinked slowly. The AMO leaders seemed, currently, to be at a loss for words.

“I think I’m going to take a nap now,” Ryan said, and passed out.

* * *

 

Ryan smelled vanilla when he woke up. An Achievement Hunter blanket was draped over his shoulders, and it took him a few seconds to realize he was sleeping on the couch in the office. His shirt was still bloodied; no one had changed out his shirt for him, but they had taken off his shoes and placed them neatly next to the couch. He sat up with a grunt and accidentally nudged Ray with his foot, who was sitting at the end of the couch.

“Is someone baking cookies?” Ryan croaked. He cleared his throat. Ray stared blankly at him for a few seconds. He had cleaned up all the blood smeared over his face, and had changed into a fresh shirt, but he still looked pale and weary with deep shadows under his eyes.

“Cookies?” Ray asked.

“It smells like vanilla,” Ryan asked. A beat. “Oh, you mean you don’t remember…”

Ray winced and shook his head, one hand rubbing his temple. “There’s just these… random things I don’t fucking remember. It doesn’t make any sense. I forgot your name, I’ll know what a cookie is when I see it but I can’t think of it from its name. I forgot how old Geoff is, the last two weeks are blank… It’s just completely random.”

“Did they tell you what happened…?”

Ray sighed and stared at his lap. “Yeah. Geoff remembers the most, obviously. I think the celestial sphere energy didn’t like letting go of me. But you… really helped.” He glanced at Ryan again. “If you hadn’t jolted me a little out of that… connection—I would have burned up. I don’t remember it, but I know it.”

Ryan rolled his shoulders and rubbed his arm. “You would have done the same for me.” He paused, and Ray held something out to him—his eyepatch. Ryan took it, and as he slipped it over his injured eye, he asked, “So… the smell of vanilla?”

“Seems to be a leftover thing from what I did,” Ray said. “We’ve got some new rooms below Studio 5. They’re going to inspect them for safety and utility, and then we’re going to use them for mutants.”

“Saves us from buying or renting a whole other place, I guess.”

Ray shrugged and weakly grinned. He stood up with another sigh. “Something interesting has happened while we were out. I’ll let Geoff explain it. He should still be outside.”

Ray led the way out of the office, through the building, and back outside. The weather had returned to its normal, sunny Austin day—an unusual sight after the showdown. The sun had dipped down in the sky significantly. The rest of the main Achievement Hunters—plus Matt, who sat next to Geoff—were sitting scattered around the base of the newly formed hill that Studio 5 rested on. There were notably fewer cars now—many employees went home early today. Chunks of asphalt were everywhere like a battlefield, but miraculously the worst damage to any visible cars was superficial scratches.

Everyone looked up when they heard the door open, and Ryan and Ray joined them at the bottom of the new hill. The two of them stood next to Geoff and Matt. Jack, Michael, and Gavin sat just a little ways off, enjoying the sun.

“Have a nice nap?” Geoff asked wearily.

“Oh yeah,” Ryan said. “Sounds like you need one too.”

Geoff sighed and rubbed his forehead, but it was Matt who talked next. “Since you passed out, you missed the business we settled. The AMO shouldn’t bother us anymore, and are going to release Jeremy’s friend, as well as any other non-mutant they’ve detained for ‘betrayal.’ And while we couldn’t get them to stop catching and ‘training’ mutants, they’ve sort of agreed that should we get to the mutants first, the AMO will let us have them.”

“Unless, of course,” said Geoff, “our own training fails.”

“We won’t fail,” said Gavin. “We’ve got Burnie.”

“And who knows how well they’ll keep their promise,” Jack added sourly.

Matt shrugged and looked out across the parking lot. “Adam and James are going back to California with their friends tomorrow, but will keep in touch. Meg will also be in touch, and we’re actually going to interview her for a job here.” Gavin grinned at that, and Michael shot him a sly smirk.

“Tell him the interesting thing,” Ray said.

“I was getting to it,” Matt said. He turned to look at Ryan. “Surprisingly, Dr. Harlow called us, after the AMO dispersed. She said that ‘recent events’ have forced her to reexamine her practice, and she’s starting to think that the AMO is going about it wrong. She’s not going to be able to simply leave, but she believes that she can find other people within the organization that think similarly. Long story short, she wants to start working _with_ us rather than against us, and her actions may start dissolving the AMO from the inside.”

“Hey, that’s great news!” Ryan said.

“I mean, sure,” Michael said. “Let’s just pretend she never endorsed our kidnappings and basically tortured some of us. Now she’s starting to think we’re _might_ be fucking human!”

“And she still wants a cure," Matt said. "But we’re going to meet with her in person again, and try to see how genuine she is. I have faith, though. She waited to be separated from her fellow AMO leaders, and she sounded nervous to be calling. And, I have to admit, a cure might not be a bad option if it's voluntary. Still...”

“We have to start somewhere,” Ryan agreed. “We can’t keep doing fight after fight after fight.”

Geoff let out the biggest sigh of them all as he picked up a chunk of asphalt the size of his palm. He tossed it in his hand, watching it bounce. “You’re damn right about that,” he said. He clutched the piece of asphalt and swept his gaze over the other five main Achievement Hunters. “Fuck if there’s not still work to do. But I’m done fighting like this. Even if I don’t like every bit of the situation, it’s time to change. To refocus our energies and make new plans.”

Geoff wound his arm back, and then hurled the piece of asphalt across the parking lot. It skittered across the hard ground, clattering as it went, skipping behind the cars until its echoes finally stopped. Where it had ended up, no one could see for certain—only guess.

“Welp,” Geoff said, standing after a heavy pause. “Go home, everyone. It’s back to work tomorrow.”


	36. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can never just end things, can I. I always have the urge to tag an epilogue onto the end of my stories, and this one is no exception. I just love the little snapshots, the hints that though this story has ended, THE story has... not quite. It's kind of like real life, that way. Nothing's truly ended. There's always an epilogue to clue you in to what continues past what you've read. Just a snippet.
> 
> Ah, but I wax on. I wanted to thank you for reading my story, especially if you made it this far. This was a sequel to the first fanfic I ever posted on this site, and I treated it sort of like an action cartoon, like the X-Men (hah!). It was an interesting experience, and a fun one, but I'm glad it's done now! 
> 
> Fun fact! Half of this epilogue was first written on my phone in the middle of summer, 2014. That was about two and a half years ago! Ah, endings. (Where is my life, though!? hahaha). Anyway, please enjoy, and let us move on to more stories! <3

**A Few Months Later**

 

“Do you see him?” Michael asked. He toyed with a small stone as he sat with his back against the half-wall surrounding the perimeter of the roof. He squeezed the pebble between his forefinger and thumb, hearing the faint sizzle of acid. Matt Bragg had his elbows propped on the half-wall and a pair of binoculars held up to his glasses. His shaggy brown hair had grown longer since they first met; he had been growing it out ever since he and Jeremy got hired and joined the Achievement Hunters.

“Not yet,” Matt said. He sighed and lowered the binoculars. “This should be the place that Jeremy saw over the governor’s head, but it might not yet be time.”

“Why do I have to be the one to spook him?” Ryan complained from near the entrance to the roof. He adjusted his eyepatch to more comfortably sit over his injured eye. “I feel like I’m getting a reputation.”

“You already _had_ that reputation, Ryan,” Michael said dryly. “That’s what makes you better suited. Oh, and your ability.”

“I’m trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Ryan grumbled.

“Is Ray ready?” Matt asked Michael.

Michael shrugged. “I'll check.” He pulled out his cell phone, taped its screen, and held it up to his ear. After just a couple beats, the other end picked up. “Yo, asshole, are you even awake right now?”

Ray appeared in front of Michael suddenly, and Michael was startled so bad that his phone clattered to the roof. “Sup,” said Ray.

“You could have just answered,” Michael said. “And what the fuck, you’re not wearing the uniform.”

Ray grinned lazily, jamming his hands into his pocket. “It’s more fun this way. And since I’m now self-employed, I don’t have to wear the stupid uniform, thanks.”

Michael plucked at his bright green shirt and scowled. “Whatever,” he said. “It’s almost time. Are you ready?”

“Yep,” Ray said. He twisted to look behind him at Ryan. “R&R Connection reunited!”

Ryan gave him a half-hearted smile and an attempt at a shrug.

“He’s just nervous,” Matt said, looking through his binoculars again. “Alright, I think it’s time.”

Ryan sighed and slipped off his eyepatch, tossing it at Michael. “Fine, okay. Let’s do this. The others are waiting.”

* * *

 

The governor waved goodbye and smiled at his fellow politician before walking out of the restaurant. As soon as the bright sunlight hit his face, his smile fell. He really disliked O’Malley—borderline loathed the fellow. But unfortunately, there was one thing they agreed on, and that was about mutants.

As for any other disease, the governor believed in finding a cure. It was purely unethical to use mutants as weapons anyway, but besides that they were just sick people. People who had been born wrong. And it was his duty to fund research to find out how to make them right again. More and more reports of mutants seemed to crop up every day. (The fact that the cases were only being _reported_ more, rather than there actually being more cases in general, never occurred to the governor.)

The governor sighed unhappily as he strolled to his sleek black car. As an important politician, he had the option to hire a chauffeur, but he’d rather not. His favorite car was a manual, and not only were most drivers incapable of using a stick shift, it was more fun to _drive_ than to be _driven in._ He slid into the driver’s seat, checked his mirrors, and pulled out into the street, office-bound.

He stopped at a red light, cursing as it changed just as he approached. He tilted his head back to check his teeth in the rearview mirror.

A boom like a meteor crushing the asphalt sounded from in front of him. The governor screamed and lurched in his seat. His engine roared as his foot instinctually pounded the gas, but he only started to roll—his car was still in neutral. A man in a green and black uniform had landed from God knows where just in front of the bumper, and he bared his teeth at the governor, his good eye flashing like a cat’s.

The governor flailed, first going for the car door, then his seatbelt, then diving for the glove box where, like every good Texan, he kept his emergency gun. He snapped it open only to find it empty.

“You were going to shoot us?” said a voice from his back seat. “That’s rude.”

A man had materialized in the back seat, a man with wavy black hair cut short, and thick-rimmed glasses. A man with a trim beard, and dark eyes. And, significantly less threateningly, he wore a vibrant purple hoodie. But worst of all, the governor recognized him, as he twirled the small pistol around his finger.

“You…!”

“Hello governor,” said Ray. “My friends and I would just like to talk.”


End file.
